 | |||
| Full name | San Diego Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | SDFC | ||
| Founded | May 18, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-05-18) | ||
| Stadium | Snapdragon Stadium San Diego, California | ||
| Capacity | 35,000 | ||
| Owner | |||
| General manager | Tyler Heaps | ||
| Head coach | Mikey Varas | ||
| League | Major League Soccer | ||
| 2025 | Western Conference: 1st Overall: 4th Playoffs: TBD | ||
| Website | sandiegofc.com | ||
 Current season | |||
San Diego Football Club is an American professionalsoccer club based inSan Diego. The club competes inMajor League Soccer (MLS) as a member of theWestern Conference. The team plays its home matches atSnapdragon Stadium. The club's ownership group is led by British-Egyptian businessman and former politicianMohamed Mansour and theSycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, a federally recognized Native American tribe. The group was awarded anexpansion team on May 18, 2023. The club began play in the2025 season as the 30th in MLS.
San Diego's earliest professional soccer team was the short-livedSan Diego Toros, aNorth American Soccer League (NASL) team that relocated from Los Angeles in 1968 and played a single season. A second NASL team, theSan Diego Jaws, was established in 1976 from the formerBaltimore Comets and played one year before moving toLas Vegas; the club returned in 1978 and was renamed theSockers, playing outdoor matches atJack Murphy Stadium, which was shared with theNational Football League'sSan Diego Chargers andMajor League Baseball'sSan Diego Padres.[1][2] The Sockers had poor attendance but survived the folding of the NASL by moving to theMajor Indoor Soccer League, where they won eight championships in nine seasons.[1] The team moved to theContinental Indoor Soccer League in 1993 and folded in 1997;[3] the name was later revived for asecond indoor team from 2001 to 2004 and athird indoor team that began play in 2009.[4] Other outdoor teams, including theSan Diego Flash andSan Diego 1904 FC, had played short stints in the lower divisions of American soccer in the 2000s and 2010s before folding.[5]
During the formation of MLS in the mid-1990s, San Diego was not among the U.S. cities to formally submit a bid for a team in theinaugural season, but expressed interest and held several meetings with the league.[6] MLS commissionerDoug Logan described San Diego as a "prime candidate" for an expansion team, but the city's lack of a suitable stadium to accommodate soccer was a "major hurdle"; at the time, Jack Murphy Stadium was shared with the Padres and had a larger capacity than the league's desired size.[7] The renovated Jack Murphy Stadium (renamed Qualcomm Stadium) hosted several exhibition matches and the1999 MLS All-Star Game, which drew an attendance of 23,277;[8][9] it was the onlyMLS All-Star Game to be played outside of an active or future MLS market.[10]
Following the approval of plans to build adowntown ballpark for the Padres, the MLS expansion committee voiced their support of a potential team playing at Qualcomm Stadium—either permanently or until asoccer-specific stadium was built.[11] The San Diego market was considered forChivas USA, an MLS expansion team that later served as a reserve team forC.D. Guadalajara of theMexican Primera División.[12] The team instead shared its home venue with theLA Galaxy inCarson, California, and played for 10 seasons before folding for low attendance and ownership issues.[13][14] The league continued to list San Diego as a potential candidate for expansion and negotiated with several interested investor groups, but the lack of a suitable stadium prevented further consideration.[15][16]Balboa Stadium, the 1960s home of the Chargers and Jaws, was also mentioned as a potential site for a smaller stadium built for an MLS team.[17]
A new team across theMexican border,Club Tijuana (nicknamed theXolos), was founded in 2007 and promoted toLiga MX—Mexico's top-flight league—in 2011.[18] The team attracted support from fans in San Diego—about 20 miles (32 km) north of their home stadium—and played several exhibition matches in the area at various venues,[19] including Qualcomm Stadium and the Padres' Petco Park.[20][21] San Diego also remained one of the top U.S. viewing markets for television broadcasts of theFIFA World Cup,Premier League, and other overseas soccer competitions.[17] The area had also produced several prominent players for the United Statesmen's andwomen's national teams.[22]
The San Diego Chargers announced plans to relocate to the Los Angeles area in 2015 while it also pursued a new downtown San Diego stadium, which required voter approval but was rejected.[23] The team's departure was made official in early 2017 and opened an opportunity for a new MLS expansion bid to be led by businessman Mike Stone with several other investors, including Padres ownerPeter Seidler and former soccer playerLandon Donovan.[24][25] A separate bid from former Padres ownerJohn Moores—who had shown interest in an MLS team in the 1990s—and an unspecified Premier League team was withdrawn a year earlier.[26][27] The Stone bid proposed a redevelopment of the Qualcomm Stadium site named "SoccerCity" that would includemixed-use development and a park surrounding a stadium shared withSan Diego State University (SDSU)'s athletic teams, known as theAztecs.[25] The stadium would seat 20,000 to 32,000 spectators and cost $200 million to construct.[28] A separate proposal from SDSU, named SDSU West, was announced and placed on the same November 2018 ballot; SoccerCity was defeated with 30 percent of votes, while SDSU West earned 55 percent approval.[10][29]
A second-division team,San Diego Loyal SC, was established by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan in 2019 and began play the following year in theUSL Championship atTorero Stadium. The team also showed interest in launching an MLS expansion with other partners, but were not part of any later bids.[1][30] The SDSU West stadium, namedSnapdragon Stadium, opened in 2022 and became the home ofSan Diego Wave FC, aNational Women's Soccer League expansion team that moved from Torero Stadium.[10] The team set several U.S. women's soccer attendance records in their first season and drew 32,000 fans at the new Snapdragon Stadium.[31] Several investor groups also approached SDSU to launch a MLS expansion team that would play at Snapdragon Stadium with financial concessions requested by the league.[10] A separate proposal to build a mixed-use residential and hotel district in the suburb ofChula Vista with a soccer-specific stadium was announced in April 2023 by Petra Development Group and outside investors.[32]
TheSycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, a federally recognizedNative American tribe and operators of local entertainment venues, began looking for opportunities to invest in sports ownership in December 2020. The tribe partnered with developer Brad Termini to bid for an MLS expansion team the following year and searched for a major financial partner with help from the league.[1][33] The Sycuan Tribe contacted theMansour Group, led by businessmanMohamed Mansour, who joined the bid in late 2022. In October 2022,The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the proposed team would require an agreement with SDSU to use Snapdragon Stadium.[34] San Diego competed with proposals fromLas Vegas, who had previously been described as the "favorite" to become the 30th MLS team;[35] the primary Las Vegas bid, led byWes Edens andNassef Sawiris, who co-ownedAston Villa F.C. in the Premier League, included a conceptual indoor stadium.[36][37]
On May 18, 2023, at a Snapdragon Stadium event, MLS announced that the expansion team had been awarded to San Diego and would be owned by Mansour and the Sycuan Tribe. The ownership group paid a $500 million expansion fee according to media reports.[22][38] Within a day, a total of 5,000season ticket deposits had been sold.[33] The team's name, San Diego Football Club, and colors were unveiled at an event on October 20.[39] San Diego FC began to play in 2025, giving the state of California four clubs in MLS.[40] The team's first player, former Loyal SC goalkeeperDuran Ferree, was signed in December 2023 and loaned toOrange County SC for the 2024 season.[41]
San Diego FC announced a five-year partnership with Club Tijuana in May 2024 that will include an annualfriendly match between the two teams, hosted in San Diego. It is the first partnership of its kind between individual MLS and Liga MX clubs.[42] The team signed their firstDesignated Player, Mexico international and forwardHirving "Chucky" Lozano fromPSV Eindhoven, to a four-year contract in June. Lozano remained with PSV until the first San Diego FC training camp in January 2025.[43] San Diego FC selected five players during the2024 MLS expansion draft, which took place at theMission Valley shopping mall on December 11.[44] Three of the players were retained by the club, while two selections were traded to other MLS teams.[45]
The team's first match was on February 23, 2025, atDignity Health Sports Park against defendingMLS Cup championsLA Galaxy. San Diego FC won 2–0 with two goals fromAnders Dreyer; an estimated 1,000 supporters had traveled to Dignity Health Sports Park to support the team.[46] The first home match at Snapdragon Stadium was March 1, 2025, againstSt. Louis City SC; a 0–0 tie in front of 34,506 fans, it marked largest crowd for a sporting event in the stadium's history.[47] However, the match was marred by instances of the homophobic"puto"chant throughout,[48][49][50] leading to a joint campaign by the club and the San Diego Independent Supporters Union to prevent the chant at future home games – adopting the phrase"Not here" (Spanish:Aquí No).[51][52][53]
The team finished first in the Western Conference in their inaugural season and earned 63 points, breaking a record for expansion teams in MLS.[54] In their first playoff game, San Diego FC defeated thePortland Timbers 2–1 at Snapdragon Stadium on October 26, with goals fromOnni Valakari and Anders Dreyer.[55] The team then lost their second match and won 4–0 in the third to clinch thebest-of-three series against Portland.[56]
The team's crest comprises a shield in the club's official colors—chrome andazul—surrounded by agradient band of blue, red, orange, and yellow.[57] At the center of the shield is a circular design, named "The Flow", with 18 lines that represent the 18 cities ofSan Diego County.[39][58] At the top of the shield is an arch with the "San Diego" wordmark, representing monumental signs that adorn the city's neighborhoods.[59]
San Diego FC contracted with Pupila, a Costa Rican design consultant, to develop the club's identity.[57] A series of secondary logos with "The Flow" and an "SD" wordmark were also part of the unveiling.[60] San Diego FC had been used as aworking name and placeholder at the time of the expansion announcement in May 2023;[22] the team is the eleventh in MLS to use the "FC" suffix.[61] The name and crest, which were leaked byThe Athletic a day prior to the October unveiling, garnered a generally negative initial reception online, particularly the crest.[57][62] The team's merchandise at the event sold out and was supplemented by the opening of apop-up space at theMission Valley shopping center in November.[63]
The team's first jersey was unveiled on December 13, 2024. It consists of a dark "azul" background with white trim and a "gradient piping" of red to blue on the sides.[64] The secondary jersey is white with navy blue and light blue accents and was released in February 2025 under the name "Woven Into One".[65] Future editions of the secondary jersey are planned to showcase local artists under the "Community Kit" program.[66]
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–present | Adidas | DirecTV |
The team announced their first jersey sponsorship withEl Segundo-basedDirecTV on July 18, 2024.[67]
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San Diego FC plays home matches atSnapdragon Stadium, a 35,000-seat outdoor venue that opened in 2022 at the former site ofSan Diego Stadium. The stadium is located on the campus ofSan Diego State University at SDSU Mission Valley and is primarily used by the university forAztecs college football games. It is also home toSan Diego Wave FC of theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The stadium has also hosted international friendlies andCONCACAF competitions since 2023, including the2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup final.[68][69]
Snapdragon Stadium was built to soccer specifications with various fixtures that meet MLS standards; the stadium's seating capacity is larger than mostsoccer-specific stadiums, but lacks a roof or other weather protection.[1][10] The natural grass surface, which had been criticized during Wave matches and football games, was switched toBermuda grass in January 2025 and is scheduled to be replaced again in August or September.[70] The stadium also has 20luxury suites and 260 pitchside seats.[71][72] According toThe San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego FC signed a lease agreement in May 2023 with San Diego State University for use of the stadium, which is expected to cost $200,000 per match. The team would share thelocker rooms with the university's football team and have scheduling priority behind them, but ahead of San Diego Wave FC. The club will also receive $1.75 million from the stadiumnaming rights paid byQualcomm as part of the lease agreement.[73]
The team's training facility is the Sharp HealthCare Performance Center on theSycuan Reservation east ofEl Cajon. The 28-acre (11 ha) site, adjacent to theSinging Hills Golf Resort, includes a 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) building with five full-size fields and one half field—all shared between the senior team and theRight to Dream youth academy.[74][75] It began construction in November 2023 and opened on February 4, 2025.[74][76] Up to 100 youth players in the academy will have living quarters and classrooms at the campus;[77] the former Singing Hills Hotel was planned to be renovated into dormitories for academy players and staff.[76] The team's headquarters are at a leased space in theLittle Italy neighborhood of San Diego.[78]
The team is owned byMohamed Mansour, a British-Egyptian businessman and politician,[79] and theSycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.[38] TheMansour Group also owns Danish clubFC Nordsjælland and theRight to Dream youth academy, which has facilities in Ghana, Egypt, and Denmark.[80] A branch of the Right to Dream Academy is planned to be opened inEl Cajon with residential facilities for 120 to 160 players, according toThe San Diego Union-Tribune.[81] The Sycuan Band are the firstNative American tribe to own part of a professional soccer team in the United States and the second to have an ownership stake in any professional sports team after theMohegan Tribe in Connecticut, owners of theConnecticut Sun.[33][38] The ownership group also includes Padres playerManny Machado, developer Brad Termini, and several Right to Dream executives.[38] On November 20, 2024, the club announced that Spanish footballerJuan Mata joined their ownership group.[82] In February 2025, the club announced thatTems has joined the ownership group.[83]
San Diego FC's first head coach isMikey Varas, who was appointed in September 2024. He had been the interim coach of theUnited States men's national team for two matches and had previously coached theUnited States under-20 team.[84]Tom Penn was named the club's chief executive officer on May 18, 2023; he was previously president ofLos Angeles FC during their launch.[38][77] By late 2024, San Diego FC had 70 employees at their headquarters.[77]
San Diego FC has seven officially recognizedsupporters groups that form the Frontera SD, which was allocated 3,000safe standing seats at Snapdragon Stadium by the club.[85][86]
All of the club's regular season matches are broadcast globally onMLS Season Pass, an online streaming service operated under theApple TV brand.[87] The English radio broadcast is carried byKGB (760 AM) with play-by-play commentary fromAdrian Garcia Marquez and a series of guest analysts, includingMarvell Wynne,Sal Zizzo, andWarren Barton. The Spanish radio broadcast onXEPE (1700 AM), aTUDN Radio affiliate, is led by play-by-play announcer Ricardo "Pony" Jiménez.[88]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Coaching staff | |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Mikey Varas |
| Assistant coach |  Frank Hjortebjerg |
| Assistant coach | Kelvin Jones |
| Assistant coach | Luciano Fusco |
| Goalkeeper coach | Jason Grubb |
Last updated: December 2024
Source: San Diego FC[90]
| Domestic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitions | Titles | Seasons |
| Western Conference (Regular Season) | 1 | 2025 |
The chant in question, in which fans shout a Spanish, four-letter homophobic slur at the opposing goalkeeper during his run-up to take a goal kick...
| Eastern Conference | |
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| Western Conference | |
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