Soccer has enjoyed longstanding popularity in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. As of 2023,

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

has three top-level professional teams. The

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

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional Association football team based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club ...

play in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, and

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in Los Angeles, California, and was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Becky G, Natal ...

plays in the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

. The Greater Los Angeles area is also home to one 2nd division professional team,

Orange County SC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games at ...

, of 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 ...

, and four 3rd division professional teams, LAFC2 and

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 ...

, of

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS club ...

, and

Los Angeles Force Los Angeles Force is an American professional soccer club based in Los Angeles, California, that plays in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). History On August 2, 2019, the National Independent Soccer Association announced the a ...

and

California United Strikers FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Orange County, California. History The club was founded by Bronwyn & Pete Capriotti and Michael Collins (soccer), Michael Collins, who have had connections to the adult ama ...

of the

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

. There are also many semi-professional clubs and leagues including the

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was found ...

, SoCal Premier League and

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

, among others. In 2019, two more professional teams,

Cal FC Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

(Thousand Oaks) and

(Orange County) joined a new, unsanctioned, professional league called the

NPSL Founders Cup The 2019 National Premier Soccer League season is part of the 107th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and the 17th season of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Miami FC, formerly "Miami FC 2," are the defending champi ...

They both later left, with Cal FC joining the

History

Soccer in Los Angeles began in the 20th century when the Southern California Football League was founded in 1902.

Historic clubs

Los Angeles Wolves The Los Angeles Wolves were an American professional soccer team that played for two seasons. In 1967 they played in the United Soccer Association, finishing as champions, and in 1968 they were founding members of the North American Soccer Leag ...

The first and only champions of the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...

(1967), predecessor to the

North American Soccer League (1968–1984) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It was the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the United State ...

Los Angeles Kickers The Los Angeles Kickers were an amateur American soccer team established in 1951. The club won the National Challenge Cup, now known as the U.S. Open Cup, in 1958 and 1964. In 1951, Albert Ebert and Fritz Ermert founded the Los Angeles Kickers as ...

The LA Kickers were the first LA area team to win the National Challenge Cup, known today as the U.S. Open Cup.

Maccabi Los Angeles Maccabee Athletic Club ( he, מכבי לוס אנג'לס, MAH-KAH-Bee) was an American athletic club based in Los Angeles, California. The primary activity of the club was Maccabee Los Angeles Soccer Club, a team which competed professionally in t ...

LA Maccabi won the U.S. Open Cup, known in their time as the National Challenge Cup, a record number five times.

Orange County Soccer Club Orange County Soccer Club was a Greater Los Angeles team active in the mid 1960s in a league called the Continental League. One of the highlights of its existence included an international match with Bayern Munich of Germany played on June 10, 1 ...

The Orange County Soccer Club was a two-time consecutive finalist of the National Challenge Cup, in 1966 and '67. OCSC played Bayern Munich at

Santa Ana Stadium Santa Ana Stadium, also known as Eddie West Field or the Santa Ana Bowl, is a city-owned and operated 9,000-capacity American football and soccer stadium located in downtown Santa Ana. The field was named after Eddie West, a writer for the Orang ...

in 1966.

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tour ...

The LA Aztecs won the NASL National Championship in their inaugural season, 1974. They played in many stadiums, including the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

. The Aztecs folded in 1981.

California Sunshine The California Sunshine was an American soccer club based in Fountain Valley, California that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team was owned by Dr. Robert Everakes and his wife Alexandra, who was the general manager. Their home game ...

The California Sunshine, an Orange County based pro team, played in the

ASL American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

Club Deportivo Chivas USA was a joint venture between

Chivas de Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara (); often simply known as Guadalajara () and their nickname ''Chivas'' (), is a Mexican professional football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco. Guadalajara is one of the ten founding members of the Mexican First Divisi ...

owner Jorge Vergara, partner Antonio Cué, and Major League Soccer, that operated Chivas trademarks in the United States through the Delaware entity called Chivas de Guadalajara Licensing, LLC. The team folded in 2014.

Historic season records

Los Angeles Wolves (USA and NASL) (1967–1968)

Los Angeles Aztecs (NASL) (1974–81)

Several years after the formation of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

in 1968, the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tour ...

joined NASL as an expansion team in 1974, and played from 1974 until 1981, folding after the 1981 season. The team featured international superstars such as

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...

and

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

. The team was at its most popular in 1979 and 1980, averaging over 12,000 fans both seasons.

California Surf (NASL) (1978–1981)

Chivas USA (MLS) (2005–2014)

Professional clubs, modern era

LA Galaxy (MLS) (1996–present)

The launch of

in 1996 included the newly formed

Los Angeles 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 play ...

as one of the founding teams. LA Soccer Partners were the original owners;

Anschutz Entertainment Group The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports even ...

is the current owner. The Galaxy won the

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Americ ...

in 2000.

Los Angeles FC (MLS) (2018–present)

Angel City FC (NWSL, 2022–present)

Los Angeles derbies

LA Galaxy vs Chivas USA (2008–2014)

The rivalry ended in 2014 when Chivas ceased operations.

LA Galaxy vs Los Angeles FC (2018–present)

joined the league in 2018 and a

crosstown rivalry A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. The intensity of the rivalry can range anywhere from a light hearted banter to serious viole ...

El Tráfico El Tráfico, also known as the Los Angeles Derby, is a soccer rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in the Greater Los Angeles area, LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC. The rivalry is one of two crosstown derbies in MLS, along ...

, was created.

Amateur and Semi-professional

Amateur and Semi-professional leagues

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

Amateur and Semi-professional clubs

* California United FC II (UPSL) * Cal FC (UPSL) * Club Xolos USA U-23 (NPSL) * FC Golden State Force (NPSL/USL2) * FC Santa Clarita (UPSL) * La Máquina FC (UPSL) * L.A. Wolves FC (UPSL) * Orange County FC (NPSL/UPSL) * Oxnard Guerreros FC (NPSL) * San Nicolás FC (US Premiership) * Santa Ana Winds FC (UPSL) * Temecula FC (NPSL) * Ventura County Fusion (USL2)

Most successful clubs overall

Teams in bold are still active.

Stadiums

LA Galaxy vs Houston Dynamo- Western Conference Finals panorama

* Rose Bowl: Hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final *

Dignity Health Sports Park Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignity ...

: Second American sports arena designed specifically for soccer in the MLS era. Used historically by the

and

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

. *

Banc of California Stadium Banc of California Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC and the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC. Opened on A ...

: Stadium for

, opened April 29, 2018. Also to be the home ground for

once that team starts play in 2022. *

: A site for historic soccer exhibition games. The historic

Orange County Soccer Club Orange County Soccer Club was a Greater Los Angeles team active in the mid 1960s in a league called the Continental League. One of the highlights of its existence included an international match with Bayern Munich of Germany played on June 10, 1 ...

played

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

at this stadium in 1966. Other games included the following:

Women's soccer

In 2009, Los Angeles became home to a third top-level professional team, the

Los Angeles Sol The Los Angeles Sol was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The team was co-owned and operated by Blue Star, LLC and AEG, a subsidia ...

, a charter member of

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

. WPS was the second attempt to establish a fully professional women's league in the U.S., after the demise of the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first Women's association football, women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000 in sports, 2000, the league began its first se ...

(which did not have an L.A. representative). The Sol shared The Home Depot Center, now known as

, with the Galaxy and Chivas USA, before ceasing operations in January 2010. WPS folded after the 2011 season; its effective successor, the

, does not currently have a fully operational franchise in Los Angeles, nor in California. In July 2020, a then-unnamed team backed by an almost all-female ownership group was announced as a new NWSL member. The team, later unveiled as

, plans to start play in 2022 at

, home to Los Angeles FC of MLS.

Indoor soccer

Although the area does not have any current professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

teams, Los Angeles has hosted three. The

played one tournament and two seasons in the NASL Indoor leagues in 1975 and from 1979 to 1981. The

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Strings of Tea ...

played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League from 1982 to 1989. Finally, the Los Angeles United played a single season in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

in 1994 before being relocated to

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

References

{{Soccer in the United States Soccer in California

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 ...

History

Historic clubs

Los Angeles Wolves The Los Angeles Wolves were an American professional soccer team that played for two seasons. In 1967 they played in the United Soccer Association, finishing as champions, and in 1968 they were founding members of the North American Soccer Leag ...

Los Angeles Kickers The Los Angeles Kickers were an amateur American soccer team established in 1951. The club won the National Challenge Cup, now known as the U.S. Open Cup, in 1958 and 1964. In 1951, Albert Ebert and Fritz Ermert founded the Los Angeles Kickers as ...

Maccabi Los Angeles Maccabee Athletic Club ( he, מכבי לוס אנג'לס, MAH-KAH-Bee) was an American athletic club based in Los Angeles, California. The primary activity of the club was Maccabee Los Angeles Soccer Club, a team which competed professionally in t ...

Orange County Soccer Club Orange County Soccer Club was a Greater Los Angeles team active in the mid 1960s in a league called the Continental League. One of the highlights of its existence included an international match with Bayern Munich of Germany played on June 10, 1 ...

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tour ...

California Sunshine The California Sunshine was an American soccer club based in Fountain Valley, California that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team was owned by Dr. Robert Everakes and his wife Alexandra, who was the general manager. Their home game ...

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

Historic season records

Los Angeles Wolves (USA and NASL) (1967–1968)

Los Angeles Aztecs (NASL) (1974–81)

California Surf (NASL) (1978–1981)

Chivas USA (MLS) (2005–2014)

Professional clubs, modern era

LA Galaxy (MLS) (1996–present)

Los Angeles FC (MLS) (2018–present)

Angel City FC (NWSL, 2022–present)

Los Angeles derbies

LA Galaxy vs Chivas USA (2008–2014)

LA Galaxy vs Los Angeles FC (2018–present)

Amateur and Semi-professional

Amateur and Semi-professional leagues

Amateur and Semi-professional clubs

Most successful clubs overall

Stadiums

Women's soccer

Indoor soccer

See also

References