By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
April 16, 2026-The local soccer community is mourning the passing of Franush Kcira (fra-NUUSH CEE-ra), who passed away on April 10 at the age of 70 of cancer.
Nicknamed Frank, he was of Albanian descent and came to New York as a teenager from North Macedonia. Frank played in what became the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), and then professionally including with the New York Arrows of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).
Eastern New York Hall of Famer Ken Gulmi said, “Frank was a super guy. He was a midfielder who blew out his knee and reinvented himself as a goalkeeper so he could stay on the field.”
Frank started coaching his four sons in the Clarkstown Soccer Club, then coached other Clarkstown teams after his kids graduated from youth soccer. The New City resident coached in Eastern New York’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) from 1999 to 2006. With longtime MLS goalkeeper Tim Melia on the team, he coached Eastern New York ODP to the 2002 ODP National Finals in Plano, Texas.
Frank is in the back row on the far left with his Eastern New York ODP team of boys born in 1984 as the squad toured Greece and Italy in the summer of 1999. This photo is from Formia, Italy, before defeating the local men’s team.
His youngest son, Robert Baggio Kcira, was named after Frank’s idol, Italian superstar Roberto Baggio. Robert played ODP and went on to play pro soccer with SC Wiener Neustadt of the Austrian Bundesliga, the top tier in that country, as well as Miami FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL).
Frank coached for three decades in the Clarkstown Soccer Club and had a tremendous impact on the program.
“Frank was a great guy and nobody ever had anything bad to say about him,” explained Dimitri Giatrakis, another Eastern New York Hall of Famer who was very fond of Frank. “He embodied the very essence of kindness, fairness, love and devotion as a husband, father, coach and friend.”
We have lost a very good man. May he rest in peace!
With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border, east of Route 81. ENYYSA encourages the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of US Soccer and US Youth Soccer. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/