Los Angeles Football Club is an American professional soccer franchise based in Los Angeles, California that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. LAFC play their home games at the Banc of California Stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood. The team shares the Los Angeles area market with the LA Galaxy, and the two clubs compete in a rivalry dubbed El Tráfico.
Video Los Angeles FC
History
On October 30, 2014, Major League Soccer awarded a new expansion team to Los Angeles, filling the vacancy in the market created by the dissolution of Chivas USA three days earlier. On September 15, 2015, the club announced that Los Angeles Football Club, which had previously been used as a placeholder name for the club, would be the official team name. Henry Nguyen, Los Angeles FC's principal owner at the time, hinted at this possibility shortly after the club was announced in describing the name as "timeless".
LAFC announced Bob Bradley as its head coach in July 2017, joining general director John Thorrington in a search for players. Mexican midfielder Carlos Vela was signed as the club's first designated player on August 11, 2017.
On March 4, 2018, LAFC played its first MLS game, a 1-0 win against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. It was attended by 100 traveling supporters. LAFC designated player Diego Rossi scored in the 11th minute, assisted by Carlos Vela.
On March 31, 2018, LAFC suffered their first MLS loss giving up a 3-0 lead, to lose 4-3 to LA Galaxy in the MLS debut of Zlatan Ibrahimovi?.
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Colors and badge
The club's colors and logo were unveiled on January 7, 2016 at Union Station. The club's primary colors are black and gold, with red and gray used as accent colors. The Art Deco-inspired logo incorporates a shield outline referencing the city seal, with a winged "LA" monogram and the words "Los Angeles" and "Football Club" in Neutraface. The crest was designed by Matthew Wolff.
Sponsorship
On January 31, 2018, LAFC announced that YouTube TV will be the club's jersey sponsor in addition to broadcasting local matches in English.
Stadium
On May 17, 2015 the team chose the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena site to build a 22,000-seat state of the art stadium for the MLS in Exposition Park, costing $250 million. 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. The environmental impact report, arena demolition, and stadium construction were expected to take three years and delay the team's debut to 2018.
On May 6, 2016, the Los Angeles City Council approved the stadium, clearing a way for the construction of the stadium.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place on August 23, 2016. At the event attended by owners and construction crews, LAFC announced a 15-year, $100 million naming rights deal for the stadium with the Banc of California. Demolition of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena began shortly after the groundbreaking and was completed by October 2016.
The first public event at the stadium was an open practice and dedication ceremony held on April 18, 2018. The club's first match was played on April 29 against Seattle Sounders FC, with the home side winning 1-0. The lone goal was scored by Laurent Ciman in stoppage time in front of a capacity crowd of 22,000.
Club culture
Much of the marketing focus was marketing to millennials, which led to the decision to play in the heart of downtown Los Angeles at the Banc of California stadium. LAFC has taken a grassroots approach to building the club by founding the LAFC academy and signing younger prospects including Americans Walker Zimmerman and Los Angeles native Tristan Blackmon, Portuguese draft-pick João Moutinho, as well as Uruguayan prospect Diego Rossi.
The club shares the Los Angeles market with the LA Galaxy; the two teams' rivalry is named El Tráfico.
Supporters
LAFC supporters are known collectively as "The 3252", a reference to the number of seats in the safe standing supporters section of Banc of California Stadium. The 3252 is the club's independent supporters union, which encompasses a number of affiliated supporters groups, including the Black Army 1850, District 9 Ultras, Expo Originals, LAFC Cuervos, Lucky Boys, and several others.
Falcon program
The club's Falcon program includes four real-life falcons who participate in various gameday and community events. The four falcons are named after famous streets in Los Angeles: "Olly" (Olvera Street), "Fig" (Figueroa Street), "Sunny" (Sunset Boulevard), and "Mel" (Melrose Avenue).
Rivalries
The club's main rival is the LA Galaxy, who play in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson.
"El Tráfico" (literally "The Traffic" in Spanish) was a term created by MLS fans and adopted by media outlets following polls by SB Nation blogs LAG Confidential and Angels on Parade. It refers to the notorious traffic congestion in Los Angeles, among the worst in the United States and the world, while serving as a pun on "El Clásico". MLS has no plans to trademark the name. The rivalry has also been called the "Los Angeles Derby", a moniker that was also used for the SuperClasico.
Ownership
Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group and entrepreneur Peter Guber is executive chairman, former National Basketball Association executive Tom Penn is president, and venture capitalist Henry Nguyen is vice-chairman. The ownership group also includes businessmen Ruben Gnanalingam and Vincent Tan. In addition, the club has a further 22 named investors including Magic Johnson, Nomar and Mia Hamm-Garciaparra, Chad Hurley, Tony Robbins and Will Ferrell.
Broadcasting
LAFC matches are broadcast regionally in English by YouTube TV, with the team's channel carrying live games and supplemental coverage. It marks the first time that a major U.S. professional sports team has sold their regional broadcast rights to an online streaming service as opposed to a traditional television broadcaster or regional sports network. Max Bretos is the club's lead play-by-play announcer. LAFC matches are televised in Spanish on UniMás KFTR 46. Regular local radio coverage of LAFC matches is provided in English by KSPN (ESPNLA 710), with Dave Denholm serving as play-by-play announcer. Spanish radio broadcasts are provided by KFWB (980), with Armando Aguayo as the play-by-play announcer.
Players and staff
Current roster
- As of July 12, 2018
Out on loan
Coaching staff
- As of May 3, 2018
Team management
- As of May 3, 2018
Development system
Orange County SC
Orange County SC, competing in the United Soccer League, is affiliated with Los Angeles FC. LAFC entered into a multi-year affiliation agreement with the team on December 7, 2016. Orange County SC is independently owned by James Keston.
Academy
On February 1, 2016, the club announced the founding of the LAFC Academy. The academy is launching with a fully funded U12 USSDA academy team with a roster of 26 players. Todd Saldana currently serves as academy director.
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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