Miquel Gasparin Ferrando is bringing a wide range of expertise as he advances in his career, becoming the Director of Youth for The Island F.C., the new professional minor-league soccer club set to begin play on Long Island in 2027.
Gasparin Ferrando, a 32-year-old Jericho resident, said he grew up around soccer in a small town south of Barcelona, Spain. He said he played soccer his whole life and that around the age of 16, he started to become interested in coaching.
He said he volunteered in his town while playing, which made him realize what he wanted to do for a career.
“It just transformed into something I really wanted to do,” Gasparin Ferrando said.
He eventually began working with F.C. Barcelona, one of Spain’s and the world’s biggest soccer clubs, running soccer camps and clinics. In 2016, some of the programs that Gasparin Ferrando had been a part of expanded worldwide, allowing him to work outside of Spain.
Gasparin Ferrando spent the summer working in the United States, and upon his return to Barcelona, began working with the club’s academy, developing young talent and teaching them the lessons of the game.
In 2018, F.C. Barcelona opened an academy in Columbus, Ohio, and the club asked Gasparin Ferrando if he wanted to move to the United States and become an academy director. He worked there for nearly three years before moving to the club’s New York academy.
Gasparin Ferrando said when he first moved to the U.S., he had to adapt, moving from Spain to Ohio, learning about the area’s culture, people, food and lifestyle. He then said it was an even bigger adjustment for him to move from Ohio to New York for the same reasons.
In 2024, F.C. Barcelona approached Gasparin Ferrando about relocating to another academy, this time in a new part of the world, but he declined, saying that he had acclimated to living in the United States and wanted to continue his career there.
“I thought I was a good fit for the American culture. I understood the market very well,” he said.
Gasparin Ferrando went on to become the boys director of coaching for the Long Island Slammers, an Academy Division program based in Suffolk County, up until joining The Island F.C.
He also served as an assistant coach for the women’s soccer team at Adelphi University, where he is working toward getting his Master’s degree in sports management.
“I thought this was the next step for my professional career,” the youth director said about joining The Island F.C.
The club is in the process of having tryouts for its homegrown and academy teams, and training is expected to be underway in the fall. The Island F.C. is expected to begin full operations for the 2027 season, something that Gasparin Ferrando said will allow local talent to progress.
“We’re going to build that pathway for the players that really want to make it to the pro level,” he said.
The Island F.C., set to debut in March 2027, will play at a brand-new, privately funded 2,500-seat stadium at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, which was announced at a press conference in October. The club’s season will begin just months after the 2026 World Cup is played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
The principal owner and chairman of The Island F.C., Mitchell Rechler, said the addition of the new team “is a transformative moment for soccer on Long Island,” at the press conference.
The goal of The Island F.C., as well as other MLS Next Pro teams throughout North America, is to develop the talent of top male soccer players in North America and give them a pathway to play professionally. Gasparin Ferrando said that being able to develop players at this level is what he has been striving for since deciding to become a coach.
“For me, it’s very fulfilling professionally and that was my goal when I first started coaching,” he said. “I want to have an influence on a player’s pathway and make sure that those guys can make it all the way to the top.”
