When will San Diego play in the MLS?
The dream of adding a 30th franchise to the MLS by league commissioner Don Garber has become a reality.
The MLS keeps on growing. When the dream began on December 17, 1993, not even the most hopeful soccer lovers would have believed that the MLS would rise to such levels. For the longest time, the league was unable to move beyond 12 teams. It even suffered the loss of franchises like the Miami Fusion, but the work continues, and it seems now that soon enough, there will be 30 teams to love and follow.
Today, San Diego has been awarded the 30th Major League Soccer franchise, joining the league in 2025. Billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Tribe own the expansion team announced on Thursday, making it the first professional soccer team with Native American ownership. In addition, MLB’s Manny Machado is part of the ownership group.
Mansour, based in London, is worth $3.6 billion. He founded Man Capital, an investment firm that owns Right to Dream, an organization that identifies and develops talented soccer players globally. Mansour owns a Danish soccer club. Mansour emphasized the Sycuan Tribe’s crucial role in the bid.
Before the actual boom of growth started, the league added a franchise every year from 2007 to 2010. The MLS has been on a roll since 2011! They’ve added a whopping 12 new teams, with St. Louis City being the latest addition as the 29th active club. Sadly, Chivas USA had to fold in 2014, but that hasn’t stopped the league from growing and expanding.
What is the name of the San Diego team and stadium?
MLS now has 15 teams per conference, with the addition of the San Diego franchise. The team name and crest are to be revealed later. The team will play at San Diego State’s Snapdragon Stadium, which opened last year. The stadium is home to the San Diego Wave and the university’s football team
Don Garber, the league’s commissioner, announced back in February that the league was trying to add a 30th team to the mix.
“That 30th team will come at some point soon. Hopefully for media people … we would like to get that announced by the end of the year. Never thought we’d be at 28, never thought we’d be at 29, we say we’re going to stop at 30 but the other major leagues are larger than that. I don’t ever say never. In Major League Soccer, there are many other markets that are opportunities for us.”
The dream came true, and now Garber has his team.