Sycuan Brings Professional Soccer to San Diego
May 18th, 2023
San Diego is home to Major League Soccer’s newest franchise thanks to a partnership between Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.
The team will begin play as MLS’ 30th franchise at Snapdragon Stadium in February 2025. San Diego’s latest professional sports franchise is currently operating under the working title, San Diego Football Club, and the team launched a website at sandiegofc.com. The colors and crest are forthcoming after focus groups solicit input from the community over the spring and summer.
A 30-year lease at the 35,000-seat Snapdragon Stadium was the final piece to the expansion puzzle. The stadium will also include the latest Right to Dream residential youth academy. Created in Ghana in 1999, Right to Dream is a youth academy with the dual pathway of turning pro or playing college soccer in the United States. An academy in Denmark is partnered with a pro team in the top Danish league and Mansour invested $120 million to open an academy in Egypt. The expectation is that San Diego’s academy will create a pipeline of players for the MLS roster.
After four decades of sponsoring sports in San Diego, Sycuan becomes just the second Native American entity to own a pro team and the first in MLS. San Diego Padres star Manny Machado is also a minority partner in the venture.
“Given the opportunity to be at the owner’s table, which is limited, is a dream for the Tribe,” Chairman Cody Martinez said. “It is a glass-ceiling moment for Native Americans. It gives us more of a platform to advocate for things we all have as common goals — education, health care, sport, elevating those from distressed and impoverished backgrounds to better opportunities.”