Los Angeles FC

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Los Angeles Football Club
Team logo
Full name Los Angeles Football Club
Nickname(s) The Wings[1]
Founded October 30, 2014; 2 years ago (October 30, 2014)
Stadium Banc of California Stadium
Ground Capacity 22,000
Owners
Executive chairman Peter Guber[2]
League Major League Soccer
Website Club home page

Los Angeles Football Club is an expansion franchise in Los Angeles that plans to begin play in Major League Soccer (MLS) starting in 2018.[3][4] The team was announced in October 2014.[5]

The ownership group is headed by venture capitalist Henry Nguyen, entrepreneur Peter Guber, and former National Basketball Association executive Tom Penn.[6] The ownership group also includes businessmen Ruben Gnanalingam and Vincent Tan.[7] In addition, the club has a further 21 named investors including Magic Johnson, Nomar and Mia Hamm-Garciaparra, Chad Hurley, Tony Robbins and Will Ferrell.[7][8][9]

John Thorrington was hired as executive vice president of soccer operations.[10]

The ownership sought input from fans to decide the permanent name and logo. On November 7, 2014, Nguyen expressed a preference for the name Los Angeles Football Club being permanent, describing it as "timeless" and saying, "in the world, football means one thing. Maybe it speaks a little bit to our own vision and our own aspirations."[7] On September 15, 2015, the club announced the placeholder name, Los Angeles Football Club, would be the official team name.[11]

Stadium[edit]

Main article: Banc of California Stadium

On May 17, 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported the team chose the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena site to build a 22,000-seat stadium in Exposition Park, costing $350 million, and having 140,000 square feet of open space. The group estimated the project would create 1,200 temporary construction jobs and 1,800 full-time jobs, generating $2.5 million in annual tax revenue.[12][13] The environmental impact report, arena demolition and stadium construction are expected to take three years and delay the team's debut to 2018.[4]

Academy[edit]

On February 1, 2016 the club announced the founding of the LAFC Academy.[14] The academy is launching with a fully funded U12 USSDA academy team with a roster of 26 players. Joey Cascio was named coach of the U12 team along with Juan Lopez.[15]

Colors and badge[edit]

The club's colors and logo were unveiled on January 7, 2016 at Union Station. The colors are black and gold, with a flash of red.[16] The Art Deco-inspired logo incorporates a shield outline referencing that found on the city seal, with a winged "LA" monogram and the words "Los Angeles" and "Football Club" in Neutraface.[17] The crest was designed by Matthew Wolff.[18]

Players and staff[edit]

Current roster[edit]

No. Position Player Nation
— Midfielder Alvarez, CarlosCarlos Alvarez (on loan to Orange County SC)  United States

Team management[edit]

Front office[19]
Lead managing owner Larry Berg
Co-managing owner Brandon Beck
Co-managing owner Bennett Rosenthal
Executive chairman and owner Peter Guber
President and owner Tom Penn
Vice chairman and owner Henry Nguyen
Executive vice president, soccer operations and general manager John Thorrington
Vice president, soccer operations and assistant general manager Will Kuntz

Culture[edit]

LAFC has taken a more grassroots approach to building the club than the typical American sports team. Much of the marketing focus has been on building a club for the city and community before anyhting else. District 9 Ultras and Black Army 1850 supporters group, formerly supporters of Chivas USA, have been a vocal presence at town meetings and at the logo unveiling. The Expo Originals are a new supporters group that have also been growing quickly and can be found at each LAFC event.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "LAFC Get Their "Wings?" Expansion Club Trademarks Nickname". empireofsoccer.com. February 25, 2017. 
  2. ^ a b "Our Ownership". Los Angeles FC. Retrieved January 8, 2015. 
  3. ^ Bartlett, Blair (September 15, 2015). "Los Angeles' newest Major League Soccer team announces official club name and launches collaborative effort with supporters to identity club colors with social media campaign" (PDF) (Press release). Los Angeles Football Club. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015. 
  4. ^ a b "Expansion L.A. soccer team plans new stadium on Sports Arena site". Los Angeles Times. May 17, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015. 
  5. ^ Carlisle, Jeff (October 27, 2014). "MLS shuts down Chivas USA; new club, ownership to return in 2017". ESPN FC. Retrieved October 28, 2014. 
  6. ^ "MLS officials to announce details of new franchise replacing Chivas USA". The Los Angeles Times. October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014. 
  7. ^ a b c Grant Wahl. "How did LAFC come to be? These businessmen are behind MLS' newest team - SI.com". SI.com. Retrieved September 16, 2015. 
  8. ^ Mendola, Nicholas (October 30, 2014). "Los Angeles officially given new MLS team; Magic Johnson, Vincent Tan among investors". Pro Soccer Talk. NBCSports.com. Retrieved October 30, 2014. 
  9. ^ "Will Ferrell announced as LAFC part owner". Sports Illustrated. January 7, 2016. 
  10. ^ "LAFC introduces former MLSer John Thorrington as executive VP of soccer operations =". www.mlssoccer.com. 
  11. ^ "LA's MLS expansion team announces official club name: Los Angeles Football Club". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved September 16, 2015. 
  12. ^ "Expansion L.A. soccer team plans new stadium on Sports Arena site". latimes.com. Retrieved January 13, 2016. 
  13. ^ "LAFC Stadium". Retrieved August 23, 2016. 
  14. ^ "U.S. Soccer Development Academy Adds 56 Clubs at Under-12 Division for 2016-17 Season". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved February 2, 2016. 
  15. ^ "LAFC Academy | We Start Here". lafc.academy. Retrieved February 2, 2016. 
  16. ^ "Our Crest". Los Angeles Football Club - LAFC. Retrieved January 13, 2016. 
  17. ^ Couch, Ben. "LAFC unveil crest, logo, colors ahead of MLS launch in 2018". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved January 7, 2016. 
  18. ^ "LOS ANGELES FC". Matthew Wolff Design. Retrieved January 7, 2016. 
  19. ^ https://lafc.com/club/
  20. ^ "Will Ferrell joins LAFC as part-owner as new MLS team unveils logo and colors". ESPNFC. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016. 

External links[edit]

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