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Introducing MLS Newest Expansion Team For 2025: San Diego FC

San Diego FC New MLS Expansion Team

With MLS firing on all cylinders, the interest from those with enough money to fund expansion clubs is high.

The latest team to join the league is San Diego FC who were officially announced in May 2023. They will play their inaugural season in 2025, becoming the 30th team in Major League Soccer which makes them something of a milestone club.

This will be the 4th MLS team in the state of California, along with LA Galaxy, LAFC and San Jose Earthquakes. Cali is a big state though, and geographically San Diego FC will be 130 miles away from their nearest rivals.

It’s an exciting time for California because not only are they far and away the biggest MLS state, but the rivalry this additional club will create is bound to result in more intense and exciting soccer matches.

There may still be a long time to go before the 2025 MLS season kicks off, but the team behind San Diego FC is already hard at work preparing the club, the infrastructure, the academy, building a roster and hiring backroom staff. It’s too soon to predict how their first season will go, but we can get a decent idea of their intentions and identity.

In this article, I will tell you everything there is to currently know about MLS’ newest expansion team.

Ownership

San Diego FC Ownership

As is often the case, San Diego FC is owned by a group of investors rather than by an individual.

The majority shareholder and chairman is Mohamed Mansour, through his investment company Man Capital. Mr Mansour is an Egyptian born, London based billionaire, businessman, and former politician.

He invests heavily in the education, technology, healthcare, logistics and clean energy sectors, focussing on projects that will have a social impact or nurture the next generation. This is why he helped to found Right to Dream, a project initially set up by Tom Vernon (another founding partner of San Diego FC). Right to Dream run soccer academies, schools and professional teams in Denmark, Ghana and Egypt, and now they will add America to that list. The academy in Dan Diego will be an important part of the club. The overall aim is to help kids achieve their potential and their dreams who otherwise might not have had the chance.

Another big investor is the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, with Cody Martinez representing them as Vice Chairman. The Sycuan Tribe are indigenous to San Diego, having lived on the land for more than 12,000 years, and now own some of the biggest hospitality and entertainment businesses in the area. This includes casinos, so their involvement in MLS could help to finally get sports betting legalized in California. They have been sponsoring San Diego based sports teams for many years, but as part owners of San Diego FC, they break a record as the first Native American tribe to do so.

There are another 7 individual founding partners including Manny Machado, the San Diego Padres legend and six-time MLB All-Star, and Jocko Willink, the well known retired US Navy SEAL officer, podcaster and all round badass.

Coach and Players

San Diego FC Player Signings

Mikey Varas will be the club’s first head coach. This will be his first appointment as a head coach, but soccer fans might know him as the assistant coach and then interim coach of the USA men’s team between 2021-2024. He also took an academy coaching role and then a first team assistant coaching role at FC Dallas between 2017-2021, so he may not have been in the headlines but he’s definitely been around.

In terms of the squad, well it’s still early days but there are already a few names on the roster contracted to start on January 1st 2025. That will give them a little under 2 months to train and gel as a team before facing their first opponents, who are as yet unknown.

The players who have already joined the club are:

  • Duran Ferree – Goalkeeper – Currently on loan to FC Nordsjælland
  • Hirving Lozano – Winger/Forward – Currently at PSV
  • Paddy McNair – Defender – Currently on loan to West Bromwich Albion
  • Jeppe Tverskov – Midfielder – Currently at FC Nordsjælland
  • Marcus Ingvartsen – Forward – Currently at FC Nordsjælland
  • Alex Mighten – Winger/Forward – Currently on loan to FC Nordsjælland

So many of the current roster are currently at or on loan to FC Nordsjælland because the Mohamed Mansour also own that club (well, his Right to Dream company does), so San Diego’s main shareholder is pulling some strings behind the scenes to allow both clubs to help each other out.

The most interesting player the club have signed so far is probably Hirving Lozano. The Mexican is their first designated player and he has a history of winning trophies. He has won the CONCACAF Champions League and Liga MX with Pachuca, he’s won the Eredivisie twice with PSV, plus Serie A and the Coppa Italia with Napoli during his time in Italy.

That’s on top of 70 caps for Mexico and a shed load of individual honors. He’s still only 29, and as we know, players from European top flight leagues can extend their careers by 5 or 6 years in MLS if they want to. If things go well then, he could be a brilliant signing for San Diego who stays with them for 4 or 5 seasons.

The initial appointments make me think the club are going to be shrewd about who they sign, and brave when appointing staff. Even if they get off to a bad start, I have a feeling Mikey Varas will be given plenty of time to settle into his role and build the squad and culture he wants.

Snapdragon Stadium

Snapdragon Stadium San Diego
Spatms, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Located in Mission Valley, Snapdragon Stadium boasts a 35,000 capacity and has been open since 2022.

It hasn’t been empty though. A number of sports teams call the Snapdragon home, including the San Diego State Aztecs (college football), San Diego Wave (women’s soccer), and San Diego legion (Major league Rugby). All three teams have packed the stadium out at various times, while the capacity almost doubles to around 65,000 for concerts.

It was actually built for the Aztecs and is located on the college campus, so San Diego FC were not the intended team when the stadium was constructed. However, with the popularity of MLS they will probably be its most famous inhabitants.

With a passionate sporting fan base in the area thanks to teams from other sports such as The Padres (baseball) and the Chargers (NFL), there will be plenty of interest in the city’s new soccer club. The Chargers were relocated to Los Angeles in 2017, so there is a gap in the market for a new professional sports team, plus, MLS and LA Galaxy legend, Landon Donovon, started his own USL team in San Diego then closed it once San Diego FC won their bid for expansion, so locals already have a taste for soccer.

San Diego FC will pay $200,000 per game to lease the stadium, and are second in scheduling priority behind the Aztecs. However, they will get a share of the stadium naming rights sponsorship money as part of the lease agreement.

Outlook for the Future

San Diego MLS Future Outlook

Since a ball has not yet been kicked in anger at this stage, any predictions about the club’s future in terms of performance are merely guesses.

However, we know the history, experience and passions of the people behind the scenes, and that tells us something. San Diego are likely to be a club that puts an awful lot of focus on youth development, and who are not afraid to give chances to younger players coming through. It seems to me as though they are building for the long term future as much as for success today.

I can see them attracting a very loyal local fan base early on since community outreach is in the genes of the people running the club, and I would imagine players will be welcomed and celebrated in a way that encourages long term involvement rather than a few short seasons before moving on.

They have already attracted as European star in Hirving Lozano, which tells us they certainly have a story to sell. I can’t imagine a player of his quality moving across so young if he didn’t believe the club was going places, and since so many of the ownership group have strong roots to the area their commitment to the success of the club will be strong.

Plus, Jocko Willink. How can you lose when you have him in your corner?