San Diego Loyal Soccer Club is an American professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team based in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
.
The team was founded by Warren Smith and
Landon Donovan
Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan is also the co-founder and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and serves as strategic advisor fo ...
. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an
expansion team
An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
in the
USL Championship
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
.
History
On June 20, 2019, San Diego was awarded an expansion team in the
USL Championship
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
to debut in 2020 or 2021.
Warren Smith, one of the co-founders of
Sacramento Republic FC
Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, the ...
, was named the President of the new club.
Former
USMNT
The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF.
The U.S. team ha ...
,
LA Galaxy
LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...
, and
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...
player
Landon Donovan
Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan is also the co-founder and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and serves as strategic advisor fo ...
, was named the Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations.
He was named as the club's first manager on November 14. The team's name and crest were developed through fan engagement to reflect the interests of the city.
On March 7, 2020, the team played their first competitive match, a 1–1 draw against
Las Vegas Lights FC
Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field.
The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...
at their home stadium, Torero Stadium.
The Loyal forfeited a league match against
LA Galaxy II
LA Galaxy II is an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, United States founded in 2014. It is the reserve team of the LA Galaxy. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United Sta ...
on September 25, 2020 following an alleged use of a racial slur by
Omar Ontiveros against
Elijah Martin, one of the Loyal's Black players. The match had been played to a 1–1 draw and Ontiveros was later suspended for seven matches by the USL Championship. A week later, the team forfeited another match against
Phoenix Rising FC
Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship.
History
On March 13, 2014, Kyle E ...
by walking out after halftime following the alleged use of a homophobic slur against
Collin Martin
Collin Martin (born November 9, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for San Diego Loyal in the USL Championship. He has played for D.C. United and Minnesota United FC in Major League Soccer, and for Rich ...
, an openly gay player, by
Junior Flemmings
Junior Flemmings (born 16 January 1996) is a Jamaican professional Association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger and Forward (association football), forward for club Toulouse FC, Toulouse and the Jamaica ...
. As a result of the two forfeits, the Loyal failed to qualify for the USL playoffs.
Stadium
The team signed a three-year letter of commitment to play at
Torero Stadium
Torero Stadium is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. Opened in 1961, it serves as the home of the school's football and soccer ...
, with a series of one-year options for the following four years.
The team will initially focus on building a fan base and brand at Torero, noting that the stadium could be expanded to a capacity of 8,000.
Moreover, the team noted the possibility of sharing the prospective
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
Snapdragon Stadium
Snapdragon Stadium, known during its planning and early construction phases as Aztec Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium on the West Coast of the United States, west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. It is loc ...
, at a 35,000 capacity, as a potential site for future years if they can cultivate the fan support.
Supporters
The two officially recognized supporter groups are The Locals Supporters Group and Chavos De Loyal.
Sponsorship
Players and staff
Roster
Management and staff
Team records
Year-by-year
1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.
Head coaches
* Includes USL Regular Season, USL Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.
External links
*
References
{{California sports
USL Championship teams
Association football clubs established in 2019
2019 establishments in California
Sports in San Diego