What seemed certain on the final day of 2024 is now official on the sixth day of 2025: Pascal Jansen is the new Head Coach of New York City FC, the club announced moments ago.
Jansen joins from Hungarian club Ferencvárosi TC after City Football Group reportedly bought him out of his existing contract with the intent to install him as the next NYCFC coach. The club announced that Jansen will formally join the organization pending the approval of a US work permit.
Hudson River Blue first reported Jansen's move to New York City on December 31, 2024.
Andrew Leigh
The 51-year-old holds Dutch and English citizenship – he was born in London but moved to the Netherlands as a child, and has primarily worked in the Netherlands across his three decades in coaching. His resumé is long and varied, but the bulk of his coaching success was with AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie.
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Jansen managed 162 games with AZ, dwarfing the 30 games he spent in charge of Ferencváros. His career has also included years spent as an assistant manager or youth coach with Dutch clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Sparta Rotterdam, Vitesse, and Haarlem.
He worked outside of Europe before this move to the United States, as he spent a few years as an assistant to Rinus Israël while he coached two different teams (Al Jazira and Al Wahda FC, also the former club of Ronny Deila) in the United Arab Emirates.
Now Jansen comes to America as an ambitious appointment for New York City FC. His hire follows the team's decision to fire Nick Cushing on November 26, 2024, ending Cushing's reign as coach after parts of three seasons in charge.
Here is the full text of the official statement released by New York City FC:
New York City FC Appoints Pascal Jansen as Head Coach
NEW YORK – January 6, 2025
Today New York City FC announce the appointment of Pascal Jansen as Head Coach of New York City FC signing a contract through 2028. Jansen will join the club pending the approval of a U.S. work permit.
The London-born coach brings extensive European experience having managed 192 matches across Hungary and the Netherlands, including UEFA Champions League qualifiers, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League.
Jansen most recently joins New York City from Ferencvárosi TC of the Hungarian top-flight where he’s been managing since June 2024. Jansen led the side to second place in 16 league matches thus far and has featured in this season’s UEFA Europa League across six matches.
“We are delighted to welcome Pascal to New York City FC,” said Sporting Director David Lee. “We have a group of really talented players and wanted to hire an experienced coach that can take us to the next level, and Pascal ticks all the boxes we were looking for to lead New York City FC.
“Pascal brings fantastic experience and a style of play that aligns with our philosophy, wants to play an entertaining and attacking style that will create chances and score goals, which I’m sure our fans will enjoy watching and will help us compete for trophies across all competitions in 2025 and beyond. Throughout his career Pascal has vast experience and a great track record of developing young players that have gone on to have success at the highest levels in Europe and knows how to maximize their potential to develop them both on-and-off the field.
“Pascal is also a great leader, with a calm and collaborative approach and a deep ambition to win. We believe he is the right personality fit for our club as we look to build on the fantastic culture we have already around our team.’’
Prior to Hungary, Jansen led Dutch side AZ Alkmaar for four seasons accumulating a 58-win percentage after coming out victorious in 94 matches, while also reaching the semifinals of the UEFA Conference League in 2023. Leading the youth ranks, Jansen managed Jong PSV in the Dutch second division across 74 matches from 2015-2017 finishing in fourth in his second season.
“I am thrilled to be joining New York City FC. This is a special club, with an exciting future and I'm proud to continue my professional journey here in this amazing city and this rapidly improving league. I can’t wait for preseason to begin so I can meet the staff and players and get the season underway,” said Head Coach Pascal Jansen. “I believe in a holistic approach where we want to make sure the players in our environment live up to their full potential and become the best version of themselves. I have a passion for developing players and helping them become better people and better athletes.
“It’s about mutual respect, representing one of the top teams in the league is a huge responsibility. The values I stand for as a coach are in line with the club’s values. I bring an aggressive style of play that likes to pressure opponents in-and-out of possession. I hope to make all of our fans as happy as possible; we want to continue to grow and develop but also want to entertain the fans that come out to our games by playing an exciting style of football. I am honored to be a part of the New York City family and look forward to the success we can all achieve together.”
Transaction: New York City FC appoints Pascal Jansen as Head Coach.
