The big announcement Sky Blue FC has been teasing is in regards to a new general manager and president being unveiled.
Former New Jersey Ironmen GM Tony Novo will take over New Jersey’s women’s professional team as both GM and president, effective immediately. The New Jersey Ironmen were an indoor soccer team in the MISL and XSL that played out of Newark, N.J., for two seasons, from 2007-2009. Novo was the GM and VP of business operations.
Thomas Hofstetter — part-owner of Sky Blue FC — has also served in a presidential role for the team, but is listed only as a CEO in Thursday’s press release. Currently, there is no GM listed for Sky Blue.
“While we made the playoffs during the 2013 NWSL season, we want to return to winning championships, and we believe Tony is another important building block in pursuing this quest,” Hofstetter said.
Novo’s background is primarily in business, having previously served as a senior loan officer for Chase Financial and PNC Mortgage.
The Equalizer originally learned that the roles of GM and president would be filled by two different people, one of which would be Novo.
Much of the public hubbub surrounding this announcement was due to speculation surrounding a possible partnership with the New York Red Bulls, but that deal is dead.
It was reported late Tuesday and confirmed by multiple sources that any ownership deal between Red Bull and Sky Blue FC is not happening.
In other news (unrelated?), the idea that Houston could have a team in 2014 and not 2015 is still alive. We’ll have more on that Thursday.
