San Diego was awarded the MLS expansion team on Thursday, becoming the league’s 30th team.
Commissioner Don Garber officially announced the decision on Thursday as America’s top soccer league continues its rapid growth.
The new expansion club will begin playing in the MLS in 2025 at the 35,000 seat Snapdragon Stadium
The MLS club in San Diego will be owned by Egyptian billionaire entrepreneur Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.
Previously, The San Diego Union-Tribune had reported that the franchise fee could reach $500 million.
San Diego on Thursday was assigned the MLS’s Expansion team with an ownership group headed by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour (second from right) to take charge of the club
MLS commissioner Don Garber (pictured) officially announced the decision on Thursday
Garber confirmed the news on Twitter, releasing a statement saying: “I am thrilled to welcome our newest owners here in beautiful San Diego as the 30th MLS club.
Thank you, Mohamed Mansour & the Sycuan Tribe, for your belief in this league and for helping to finally bring an MLS club to this great city! We can’t wait to see you kick off in 2025.”
Also a member of the ownership group is six-time Major League Baseball All-Star Manny Machado, who already has strong athletic ties to the San Diego area and currently plays for the Padres.
Other founders include Brad Termini, co-founder, Zephyr Partners, Tom Vernon, founder, Right to Dream and Dan Dickinson, board member, Right to Dream. Meanwhile, highly respected sportsman Tom Penn will serve as the club’s CEO.
“We are thrilled to welcome San Diego to Major League Soccer as our 30th team,” Commissioner Garber said.
“For years we thought San Diego would be a great MLS market because of its youthful energy, great diversity and the fact that football is an essential part of everyday life for so many people. Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Tribe have an incredible vision to build a club that will inspire and unite football fans across the city and region.”
Mansour is the founder and chairman of London-based investment management company Man Capital, which owns Right to Dream.
Right To Dream is a community of world-class football academies, clubs and partners working to identify and develop talent and has already produced players who have gone on to play at the highest level for club and country in MLS, the Champions League and FIFA World Cup, as well as seven graduates who represented their countries at the 2022 World Cup.
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Sycuan Tribe to bring Major League Soccer to such a deserving community and legion of San Diego soccer fans. This is a real opportunity to create a powerful and lasting heritage for the city and the region,” said Mr Mansour.
“We look forward to bringing Right to Dream’s unique developmental approach and unparalleled football expertise to San Diego and MLS by providing tangible benefits to the community as we seek to open doors and identify and nurture talent from across the country and beyond. that has already proven to be a destination for the region’s passionate football fans.’
Also a member of the ownership group is six-time Major League Baseball All-Star Manny Machado
The partnership will make the Sycuan Tribe the first Native American tribe to have an ownership stake in professional soccer in the United States.
Sycuan, one of 12 Kumeyaay tribes in San Diego County, has already formed partnerships with other area ventures, including the Padres, San Diego Symphony and the Children’s Hospital.
Machado, who joined the Padres in 2019 as part of a then-record contract, said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to join the San Diego MLS ownership group. I will continue to plant roots in this amazing community that means so much to me and build on my connection with the incredible fans.
“I am further encouraged by the dedication and experience the club brings, through Right to Dream, to developing young athletes personally, academically and athletically, and excited to support the growth of football in San Diego.”
The club will play at Snapdragon Stadium, which has proven to be a popular football venue since opening in 2022.
Last September, San Diego Wave FC set a single-game attendance record in the National Women’s Soccer League with a sold-out crowd of over 32,000 at Snapdragon Stadium.
The new club will begin playing in the MLS in 2025 at the 35,000 seat Snapdragon Stadium
Located on the campus of San Diego State University and featuring a natural grass playing surface, the stadium hosted a LIGA MX friendly between Club Tijuana and Club América in March.
Major international soccer events coming to the venue this year include Mexico vs. Cameroon on June 10 and the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal on July 12.
Football fans can already pledge their loyalty to the MLS newcomers by reserving their place on the list for season tickets for San Diego’s first season by paying $18 on the club’s website.
All proceeds will be donated to the San Diego Foundation to fund non-profit organizations investing in the development of youth soccer throughout San Diego.
San Diego already has a local professional squad, San Diego Loyal, which plays in the de facto men’s second division of American professional soccer.
However, the USL Championship club is reportedly not involved in the new MLS project.
Led by EVP of Soccer Operations, former USMNT star Landon Donovan, the team released a statement earlier this month from chairman and owner, Andrew Vassiliadis, saying that “we’re not going anywhere.”