Our History
Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as Los Angeles FC or LAFC, is an American professional men's soccer team based in Los Angeles, California. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club was established on October 30, 2014 and began play during the 2018 season as an expansion team. The club plays their home matches at BMO Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium located in Exposition Park.
The managing owners of the club are Brandon Beck, Larry Berg, and Bennett Rosenthal. Los Angeles FC also has a variety of other part-owners, such as Will Ferrell. The club's inaugural head coach was Bob Bradley, who served from 2017 to 2021. During their second season in 2019, Los Angeles FC won the Supporters' Shield with club captain Carlos Vela earning the MVP Award. The club won their first MLS Cup in 2022, which completed a league double with their second Supporters' Shield. In 2020 and 2023, Los Angeles FC were also the runners-up in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Since they started playing, Los Angeles FC have had a fierce rivalry with the LA Galaxy, the older of the two Los Angeles–based MLS teams. The rivalry between the two clubs has been dubbed El Tráfico by the supporters of both clubs, a humorous play on El Clasico.
Club Culture
The 3252 Supporters unveiling their first tifo in the home inaugural game vs. the Seattle Sounders After the launch, supporters were consulted on many of the club's early decisions including the team colors, the look of the crest and the design of BMO Stadium, built on land previously held by the LA Sports Arena. Much of the marketing focus was to millennials, which led to the decision to play near downtown Los Angeles. LAFC took a grassroots approach to building the club by founding the LAFC academy and signing younger prospects including Americans Walker Zimmerman and Tristan Blackmon, Portuguese draft pick João Moutinho, and Uruguayan prospect Diego Rossi.
Supporters
The 3252 section unveil a tifo before the second El Tráfico. LAFC supporters are known collectively as "The 3252". The official capacity of the safe standing supporters section at BMO Stadium is 3,252. When added together, the numbers 3, 2, 5, 2 equal 12, serving as a reference to "the 12th man", and an homage to the supporters of the team. Composed of a variety of supporters groups, The 3252 is the club's independent supporters union, which encompasses a growing number of affiliate supporter groups and independent supporters with active season memberships.
Falcon program
The club's falcon program includes three live falcons who participate in various gameday and community events. One falcon is released pre-game by an honorary falconer (usually a celebrity or community figure) and flies around the stadium. The first honorary falconer was co-owner Will Ferrell. The three falcons are named after famous streets in Los Angeles: "Olly" (Olvera Street), "Fig" (Figueroa Street), and "Mel" (Melrose Avenue).
Rivalries
LA Galaxy
Also Known as: El Tráfico LAFC have a cross-town rivalry with the LA Galaxy, who play in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson. The series between the two teams is known as El Tráfico (Spanish for "The Traffic"), conversely, Spanish-language speakers and media commonly refer to it as the Clásico del Tráfico (English for the "Traffic Classic"). The nickname was coined by MLS fans and adopted by some 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 play on "El Clásico". The rivalry has also been called the "Los Angeles Derby", a moniker that was also used for the SuperClasico. Seattle Sounders FC
LAFC's first game ever played was a 1–0 win at CenturyLink Field over Seattle Sounders FC on March 4, 2018, marking the earliest starting point of any of LAFC's on-field rivalries. LAFC's first home game at Banc of California Stadium was also a 1–0 win over Seattle, ending in dramatic fashion with a 92nd-minute goal. The next season Seattle got its revenge, defeating LAFC for the first time in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, bringing L.A.'s record-setting season to an end. Beyond these touchstone moments, the rivalry has carried on players, coaches, and supporters.
Ownership
In 2016, three local investors—Brandon Beck, Larry Berg and Bennett Rosenthal—took over as managing owners of the club with Berg serving as lead managing owner. As of 2017, chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group and entrepreneur Peter Guber is executive chairman, and venture capitalist Henry Nguyen is vice-chairman. The ownership group in 2019 also included businessman Ruben Gnanalingam. Other part-owners and investors include Will Ferrell, Natalie Mariduena, Nomar Garciaparra, Mia Hamm-Garciaparra, Chad Hurley, Magic Johnson, Joseph Tsai, Tucker Kain, Kirk Lacob, Mitch Lasky, Mark Leschly, Mike Mahan, Irwin Raij, Tony Robbins, Lon Rosen, Paul Schaeffer, Brandon Schneider, Allen Shapiro, Mark Shapiro, Jason Sugarman, Harry Tsao, and Rick Welts.
In February 2020, LAFC owners began the process of buying out a 20 percent ownership stake held by Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan. The buyout resulted in a $700 million valuation for the club, the largest on record for a Major League Soccer team at the time.