ASTORIA, NY (December 6, 2024) -- A football club with a storied history is a rare thing in the United States. Internationally, those clubs usually have rich tales to tell about their culture and honors.

New York Greek American Atlas Astoria (or New York Greek American Soccer Club) was founded in 1946 and is no different.

Since 1946, the club, based in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, NY, has amassed historical significance and showcases a trophy cabinet laden with admirable achievements.

Club owner Frank Bouklis believes the club means something special a vast community of people in New York.

“It represents the whole Greek community, especially in New York,” Bouklis said. 

Astoria, Queens holds the second largest Greek community outside of Greece, and is home to countless Greek restaurants and businessesses. Greek fans flooded the streets for the 2014 World Cup for the group stages and for the Round of 16. 

Greek's domestic league always is a topic of conversation, as is the the time the Greece men’s national team famously won Euro 2004 as underdogs.

So it is no surprise that success has flowed over with New York Greek American Atlas.

The club has won the Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup, North America's longest-operating domestic cup tournament, four times (1967, 1968, 1969 and 1974).

Only three existing clubs that have won the competition as many times, with all four coming from Major League Soccer after 1995. Chicago Fire, Sporting Kansas City, and Seattle Sounders are the other four-time winners. 

Bethlehem Steel - not the ressurected USL franchise but the original - is the only club to win the Open Cup five times.

New York Greek American Atlas are aiming to add a new trophy to their cabinet as this year's NISA Nation National Champions.

New York Greek American Atlas qualified for the NISA Nation National Championship through winning the 2023-2024 Eastern Premier Soccer League and defeating Roc City Boom in the NISA Nation East Regional Final.

The culture of the club attracted Bouklis. 

“I was always about Greek soccer,” he said. “History is obviously there. I had a lot of friends at the club. It just made sense at the time.”

The club plays some of its matches at Hofstra University, a private university in Hempstead, NY, and the site for the NISA Nation Championship Final on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

Bouklis is interested by the challenge and opportunity to represent EPSL against the Southwest Premier League (SWPL).

"We do feel the EPSL is a superior league to all other leagues in the region and most of the leagues in the country," Boulkis said. "The national titles that our league holds speak for themselves.”