Scenes from The 2026 Only NY & Friends Invitational at Bushwick Inlet Park 

For one spectacular Saturday every summer, the Only NY & Friends Invitational transforms Bushwick Inlet Park into something much bigger than a soccer field. The touchlines fill with photographers and designers, neighborhood brands forge fiercely fitted squads of surprisingly deft teammates, and football becomes the language of New York’s creative clans.

The sixth annual installment of the tourney continued that tradition on Saturday, June 6, welcoming 21 co-ed teams representing some of the city’s most recognizable names in fashion, media, hospitality, and culture. Hosted by Only NY and Bowery FC, the Invitational once again blurred the line between competition and community, drawing hundreds of players and supporters to the East River waterfront along the Williamsburg/Greenpoint border.

Every year introduces fresh faces, but the Invitational has developed its own rituals. New kits debuted across the field, as familiar rivals reunited between matches, trading jerseys, cameras, and conversations before returning to play. The result felt less like a traditional tournament, more like a living archive of New York’s independent creative scene, where brands become clubs and strangers become teammates by kickoff.

Participating teams—including Scenes, Secret Futbol Club, Knickerbocker, Bon Bon, L’industrie, The Midnight Club, Extra Butter, Lovely Day Studio, Stade, and others—shared the pitch on a scorching afternoon that balanced serious competition with the relaxed energy that has come to define the event. DJs provided the soundtrack while supporters lined the fences, photographers chased decisive moments, and footballs rarely stayed still for more than a few seconds.

As the day progressed, the pace intensified. The final between Knickerbocker and Emmett’s on Grove delivered one of the tournament’s most dramatic finishes, remaining level before heading to a penalty shootout. Surrounded by teammates and spectators pressing toward the goal line, Knickerbocker converted from the spot and closed out another memorable edition of the Invitational.

Closing its sixth year, the tournament, soon to be one-upped by the launch of the World Cup just two rivers and a few miles over, offered a snapshot of a city where style, fashion, creativity, and taste have always extended beyond studios, brand deals, sponsorships, and storefronts, onto the pitch itself. The jerseys change, new teams arrive, and another champion eventually lifts the golden trash can, but the spirit remains fly as ever.

Catch more scenes from the 2026 Only NY & Friends Invitational below.

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