San Diego Loyal Soccer Club is an American professional soccer 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 Stat ...

. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as 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, p ...

History

On June 20, 2019, San Diego was awarded an expansion team in the

to debut in 2020 or 2021. Warren Smith, one of the co-founders of Sacramento Republic FC, 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, and San Jose Earthquakes player Landon Donovan, 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 Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho ...

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 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 Eng, owner of an advert ...

by walking out after halftime following the alleged use of a homophobic slur against Collin Martin, an openly gay player, by Junior Flemmings. 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 so ...

, 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, in San Diego, California. It is located on the campus of San Diego ...

, 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