San Diego
San Diego FC is an American professional soccer club based in San Diego that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2023 and beginning play in the 2025 season as the 30th team in MLS, the club plays its home matches at Snapdragon Stadium. The ownership group is led by British-Egyptian businessman Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, a federally recognized Native American tribe. The club made history as the first MLS team with Native American ownership and represents California's fourth MLS franchise.
History
Overview
General information about the club
San Diego Football Club was awarded as an MLS expansion team on May 18, 2023, with ownership led by Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. The ownership group paid a $500 million expansion fee and the team began play in the 2025 season. The club's name and colors were unveiled on October 20, 2023, and they play their home matches at Snapdragon Stadium, sharing the venue with San Diego State University's football team and San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League.
Most recent season and achievements
The team's inaugural season began on February 23, 2025, with a 2-0 victory against defending MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park, with goals from Anders Dreyer. Their first home match at Snapdragon Stadium was on March 1, 2025, against St. Louis City SC, ending in a 0-0 tie in front of 34,506 fans, marking the largest crowd for a sporting event in the stadium's history.
History
Early years
San Diego's professional soccer history dates back to the San Diego Toros, a North American Soccer League (NASL) team that relocated from Los Angeles in 1968 and played a single season. The San Diego Jaws followed in 1976, established from the former Baltimore Comets, playing one year before moving to Las Vegas. The club returned in 1978 and was renamed the Sockers, playing outdoor matches at Jack Murphy Stadium alongside the NFL's San Diego Chargers and MLB's San Diego Padres.
Successful period
The Sockers survived the folding of the NASL by moving to the Major Indoor Soccer League, where they achieved remarkable success, winning eight championships in nine seasons. This period represented the most successful era of professional soccer in San Diego's history before the modern MLS era.
Crisis and recovery
After the Sockers moved to the Continental Indoor Soccer League in 1993 and folded in 1997, San Diego experienced a period without stable professional soccer. Various attempts were made with teams like the San Diego Flash and San Diego 1904 FC in the 2000s and 2010s, but these teams had short stints in lower divisions before folding. The establishment of San Diego Loyal SC in 2019 by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan marked the beginning of recovery, playing in the USL Championship.
Current period
The current era began with the successful MLS expansion bid led by the Mansour-Sycuan partnership. The team signed their first Designated Player, Mexico international Hirving "Chucky" Lozano from PSV Eindhoven, in June 2024. San Diego FC also announced a five-year partnership with Club Tijuana in May 2024, the first partnership of its kind between individual MLS and Liga MX clubs.
Symbols and Colors
Current logo and logo history
The team's crest comprises a shield in the club's official colors—chrome and azul—surrounded by a gradient band of blue, red, orange, and yellow. At the center of the shield is a circular design named "The Flow" with 18 lines representing the 18 cities of San Diego County. At the top of the shield is an arch with the "San Diego" wordmark, representing monumental signs that adorn the city's neighborhoods. San Diego FC contracted with Pupila, a Costa Rican design consultant, to develop the club's identity.
Traditional home and away kits colors
The team's first jersey consists of a dark "azul" background with white trim and a "gradient piping" of red to blue on the sides. The secondary jersey is white with navy blue and light blue accents, released in February 2025 under the name "Woven Into One." Future editions of the secondary jersey are planned to showcase local artists under the "Community Kit" program.
Club Traditions and Behind the Scenes
Sponsors
The team announced their first jersey sponsorship with El Segundo-based DirecTV on July 18, 2024.
Nicknames
The club is commonly referred to as San Diego FC or SDFC, being the eleventh team in MLS to use the "FC" suffix.
Ownership and finances
The team is owned by Mohamed Mansour, a British-Egyptian businessman and politician, and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. The ownership group also includes Padres player Manny Machado, developer Brad Termini, and several Right to Dream executives. Spanish footballer Juan Mata joined the ownership group in November 2024, followed by Tems in February 2025. The Sycuan Band are the first Native American tribe to own part of a professional soccer team in the United States.
Traditions and culture
San Diego FC has seven officially recognized supporters groups that form the Frontera SD, which was allocated 3,000 safe standing seats at Snapdragon Stadium by the club. The inaugural home match was notable for addressing the homophobic "puto" chant, leading to a joint campaign by the club and the San Diego Independent Supporters Union adopting the phrase "Not here" (Spanish: Aquí No) to prevent the chant at future home games.
Stadium
San Diego FC plays home matches at Snapdragon Stadium, a 35,000-seat outdoor venue that opened in 2022 at the former site of San Diego Stadium on the campus of San Diego State University. The stadium is shared with the university's Aztecs football team and San Diego Wave FC. According to reports, San Diego FC signed a lease agreement costing $200,000 per match, with scheduling priority behind the university's football team but ahead of San Diego Wave FC. The team's training facility is the Sharp HealthCare Performance Center on the Sycuan Reservation, featuring a 28-acre site with multiple full-size fields shared between the senior team and the Right to Dream youth academy.