GOAL spoke with the founder of Showdown to talk about the competition's return, the state of Canada Soccer and his Whitecaps' ownership
Five-a-side football has always had a draw. It's unique in the way that it requires a skillset different from the competitive 11v11 game we see played professionally around the world. Often, 5v5 is a game of technical skill, and when you play it on the street, it adds a whole new layer.
Steve Nash’s Showdown is just that, and it made its long-awaited return, ending a six-year hiatus that left fans eager for its comeback. The 13th edition of the NBA Hall of Famer’s 5-a-side competition lit up Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, drawing global stars, celebrities, and former pros. It marked the first time since 2019 that Nash brought together friends, ex-NBA players, and soccer legends for a night of streetball – and for fans, it was worth the wait.
American soccer icons like Midge Purce, Ali Krieger, Sacha Kljestan, Bradley Wright-Phillips, and Charlie Davies participated, while world-renowned Dutch footballer Edgar Davids also took part in the festivities. Previous editions have seen stars from the NBA and global soccer go head to head, including Javier Zanetti, Tony Parker, Giuseppe Rossi, Grant Hill, Patrick Vieira, and Chris Bosh.
"We always wanted to, we always had the kind of desire to bring it back, and we just kind of got our ducks in a row this year," Nash told GOAL. “We've got some exciting couple of summers here in the United States for soccer with the FIFA club World Cup, and then the World Cup next summer, so we thought we'd better get on it and get things going. And we're excited to be back."
Showdown took some of the best high school soccer players around the NYC area and gave them a platform to showcase their skills. For Kyle Martino, it was a memorable opportunity to partner with his longtime friend, but more importantly, he was thrilled to see Showdown return – a competition that he has fond memories of from nearly 20 years ago, on a hot, sunny day in Manhattan in 2008.
"I'll never forget," Martino told GOAL. "I was walking around in Manhattan, and one of my buddies called me and was like, 'I think that Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna – because he knew I was friends with these guys – are playing like a pickup soccer game in Chinatown with, like, Thierry Henry and Jason Kidd' And I was like, Dude, you're f*cking with me! And so when he told me that the game had already kicked off, I jumped in a cab, got there, and I couldn't even see the game through the wall of kids and adults, and everyone that had scaled the fence to get a view of the spectacle."
Nash, an eight-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA MVP, is a massive soccer fan. On top of Showdown, the 51-year-old Canadian is a massive supporter of the men's and women's national teams of his country, while his passion for the game has also extended into ownership.
The former Phoenix Suns star is a co-owner of La Liga side RCD Mallorca alongside former U.S. international Stu Holden and Golden State Warriors manager Steve Kerr. Domestically, Nash is also part of the ownership group of MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps, though he won't be for much longer, as he confirmed to GOAL that plans announced to sell the club in 2024 are still in the works.
One year out from the start of the FIFA World Cup Nash discussed the return of Showdown, his admiration for Jesse Marsch, road to the World Cup and the current state of the Whitecaps in the latest GOAL Convo, a Q&A with central figures in the American soccer scene.
Steve Nash Foundation ShowdownON SHOWDOWN RETURNING
GOAL: The Steve Nash Foundation Showdown is back for the first time since 2019. What made this the right time to return, and how excited are you for the event?
NASH: We always wanted to, we always had the kind of desire to bring it back, and we just kind of got our ducks in a row this year. We had some great support from Nike. And, you know, we've got some exciting – a couple of summers here in the United States for soccer with the FIFA club World Cup, and then the World Cup next summer, so we thought we'd better get on it and get things going. And we're excited to be back
GOAL: Across your storied career, you've met a plethora of footballers, NBA players, celebrities, and athletes from other sports. If you could pick one or two to invite to the event, who would it be and why?
NASH: It’s a random cast of characters. You know, I think there's only two NBA players playing, and there will be a lot watching, I think. But, you know, Josh Richardson is going to play, and I'm going to play. And then there are a few terrific women's players like Midge Purce, Ali Krieger, Mana Shim, and then a bunch of ex-MLS guys – Bradley Wright Phillips, Mike Grella.. We’ve got some great MLS careers in there, Charlie Davies and Sacha Kljestan, who obviously played in Europe and whatnot. So the headliner, though, I would say, is Edgar Davids, who's obviously done it all. So a really kind of cool and random group of men, women, and basketball players, and just a really fun, cool vibe too, because the park is, you know, it's just a local park with a little street football pitch. So it always adds an element and is kind of a character of the game in its own right.
GOAL: Across your storied career, you've met a plethora of footballers, NBA players, celebrities, and athletes from other sports. If you could pick one or two to invite to the event, who would it be and why?
NASH: I mean, if it's carte blanche, I mean, that's Lamine Yamal.
GOAL: Any non-soccer players, maybe current or former NBA players, or anybody you know that you'd like to get to play at the event?
NASH:I'd love to have Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. I'd love to have… who else… You know, some of the NBA guys can play. They've played in the past. Leandro Barbosa, Luol Deng are good players, you know. So there are a few guys out there, but I'd love to see Rafa, who I think was a terrific player, and Roger, who played as a kid. That'd be fantastic.
AdvertisementSteve Nash Foundation ShowdownON PARTNERING WITH STREET FC
GOAL: What's it like to partner with Street FC and Kyle Martino for Showdown this year to display some of the top high school talent from around New York. What's it like working with Kyle for this event?
NASH: It's great. You know, we've, we've been friends a long time. Played on the same Phoebe's club team here in the city, 17 years ago, we started playing together at least… yeah, well, I have to count up the years… but we've been been playing together and friends for a long time, so always really excited and supportive of all the things he has going on, like Street FC. And so it's cool to do it with a friend in many ways, and to get some of the kids from around the city out there playing in a fun environment, kind of preaching or pushing kids to play informally – to not have to always look for, you know, private lessons or practices or training sessions, but just to play informally, to be creative, to not not have as many barriers in their way to find joy and expression in the game.
You know, it's a really important part of this for us, and getting kids outside and kind of owning their own journey and support for life, and all the values that I think we really believe in that can help kids kind of seek better balance and lifestyle. So it's been a lot of fun to work with Kyle, and I think the message is really important to both of us.
Getty Images SportON JESSE MARSCH'S CANADA TAKEOVER
GOAL:Since Jesse Marsch's takeover as manager of Canada Soccer, the program has been on the rise. What have you noticed since his appointment, and why is it important for Canada to have somebody of his caliber on the touchline leading them into the 2026 World Cup?
NASH: Well, it's a good group of players, you know, as far as our kind of history here in the last 20, 30, 40 years, you know, I don't know if we've ever had this much talent. So that's, first and foremost, and that's a really important ingredient. And then to have a coach, Jesse, who has a lot of great experiences and characteristics, but most importantly, I think, there's a kind of singular vision and competitiveness that he brings to the team and the program.
He's not afraid, he's not apologetic. He's going to demand that this team go out there and believes they can win every time they play. So I think that kind of boldness, on top of his experiences and character and qualities as a coach, is really important for our program. So it's been a lot of fun to see this team, these players, kind of matriculate, come together, make a World Cup for the first time in decades, to have some decent performances along the way, and to now be kind of a team that's really competing for CONCACAF… You know, each cycle is fantastic. And I think there's, there's some younger players coming up, you know, obviously, it's a little tricky in Canada, we have three MLS teams. We have a country that's pretty cold for a lot of the year. Players scatter all over the world, but having said all that, here we are with some terrific players playing internationally in a national team that's very competitive.
AFPON CANADA SOCCER
GOAL: Do you see any parallels between the current state of Canada Soccer and Canada basketball when you were involved with the program?
NASH: It's a good question. Canada basketball obviously had an incredible kind of turnaround from what I [experienced] when I first came into the league. I think I was the only [Canadian basketball player]… I mean, Rick Fox was born in Canada, and moved to the Bahamas when he was like two weeks old? Bill Wellington played high school in the States. Todd McCullough came after me a couple of years. You know, it was pretty kind of few and far between, and then now, having 20 to 25, the second-most NBA players of any country, the soccer is kind of treading in the same direction, you know, players playing in different leagues around Europe and having success there and in MLS, and then the national team getting better.
So, yeah, it's an interesting question. I'm not sure what the factors are. I think there's, you know, perhaps the world's getting smaller, information is cheaper, and kids are getting more access to, you know, what “good” looks like, and trying to understand what the level is that's demanded of them. And same with our coaches, clubs, and programs. So I'd say that's definitely got to be a component.
GOAL: What do you think is a realistic expectation for Canada at the 2026 World Cup, and how excited are you for Canada to be a host nation at the tournament?
NASH: It's great that we're hosting. It's exciting to have Canada, the U.S., and Mexico host the World Cup. It's kind of a unique format. I think this part of the world is definitely evolving. As far as growing the common fan base, there's always been a lot of soccer fans, and especially in Mexico, but in the U.S. and Canada, there's always been a lot of soccer fans, international, kind of eclectic, diverse populations, but getting kind of the average sports fan into a soccer fan World Cups have an amazing impact for Canada.
I think getting out of the group would be a great goal. The most important thing is the state of the team going into the World Cup. How healthy are they? Have they got any momentum and chemistry built? So, you know, that's a huge part of this. You don't want to go into the World Cup having had a bunch of guys either injured or not able to play together. And you know, just getting over injuries, you've seen that for lots of countries in the past, where players race back to get fit, and it's not even so much the fitness as the chemistry.
So I always have to understand that the state of the group, the team, and its momentum going into a World Cup is really important, because you've got to have beliefs and pressures on, so it'll be interesting to see what state they're in. But you know, as far as being able to field a competitive team and having options, you know, on the bench, it's definitely improved tenfold. So exciting time for us, and yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun to host and to see how they do against the world.