Gotham FC Strengthens Soccer Leadership Team With Three Additions

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Oct. 20, 2026) – Gotham FC on Tuesday announced three additions to its sporting leadership team, strengthening the group led by President of Soccer Operations Yael Averbuch West and supporting the club’s long-term soccer strategy.

Gotham FC Alternate Governor Ed Nalbandian adds the title of Chief Strategy Officer, Soccer, to formalize his role in working with Averbuch West. Adam Loiacono has been named Vice President of Soccer Operations, and Megan Young joins Gotham FC as Director of Human Performance.

The appointments expand the leadership structure for the club’s sporting side, built around three complementary pillars that each report to Averbuch West: Technical Leadership, which drives how the team prepares, develops and performs; Soccer Operations, which turns the club’s priorities into coordinated execution across every department; and Soccer Strategy, which shapes the roster, resources and long-term foundation required for sustained success.

“Our continued growth requires leaders with clearly defined responsibilities who can work together as an integrated team,” said Averbuch West. “This structure gives each part of our soccer organization a distinct mandate while keeping us one integrated leadership team. Adam brings deep experience building high-performance environments in professional sport. Megan is a highly respected performance leader who puts relationships and player care at the center of everything. And Ed has been central to the long-term strategy and roster planning behind our success. I am excited about what this group will allow us to accomplish together.”

As the vice president of soccer operations, Loiacono is responsible for the day-to-day integration and alignment of Gotham FC’s soccer operations. He provides leadership across operations, team services, travel and logistics and medical and performance, supporting both the first team and Pro Player Pathway program from an operational perspective. He establishes the personnel leadership, operating rhythms and standards that enable each function to operate consistently and effectively, ensuring the club’s soccer environment is connected, high-performing and aligned across all levels.

Loiacono, a sports clinical and strength and conditioning specialist, brings more than 15 years of experience in professional sports performance and rehabilitation across the NWSL, MLS and NBA. He spent five seasons as the director of performance and rehabilitation for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, including the team’s run to the 2021 NBA Finals, and two seasons as a performance therapist with the Atlanta Hawks. In soccer, he spent eight seasons with MLS’s New England Revolution as a fitness and youth academy coach and served as a fitness coach with the NWSL’s Orlando Pride.

Reporting to Loiacono, Young leads Gotham FC’s unified medical and performance department as director of human performance. She will establish the department’s culture and standards and oversee physical development, sport science and athlete monitoring, player care and the club’s return-to-play process, working in close partnership with the coaching staff.

Young brings extensive experience in elite performance across the NWSL, MLS and collegiate game. She joins Gotham FC from Seattle Sounders FC, where she served as a performance coach, and previously served as high-performance director for the NWSL’s Chicago Stars. Before moving to the professional game, she spent 11 years on the strength and conditioning staff at Auburn University.

Young was named the 2023 National Strength and Conditioning Association Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, becoming the first coach from the sport of soccer to receive the honor. She holds master’s degrees in exercise physiology from Baylor University and information science from Auburn University. She is the co-author of Strength Training for Soccer, published by Human Kinetics with the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

The additional title for Nalbandian, a member of Gotham FC’s ownership group and board since 2020, formalizes a role he has played in partnership with Averbuch West. He leads the club’s long-term soccer strategy and roster planning, including soccer financial planning, roster management operations and strategic projects that will shape the club’s future.

Nalbandian, a former IT services CEO and ex-player and coach, also supports the coordination of scouting, analytics and soccer administration and will continue representing the club in league sporting matters, including through his role on the NWSL Sporting Committee.