San Diego’s Major League Soccer expansion team, set to begin play in 2025, unveiled its crest and name Friday evening, but The Athletic got its hands on both in advance.
The team will be called San Diego Football Club, or San Diego FC for short, and its colors are listed by as “chrome and azul.”
The team formally revealed its name and crest at a fan festival at Snapdragon Stadium Friday evening – and gear already is available for them to snap up.
“Our brand identity has been co-created with our fans and supporters over the past six months,” said Tom Penn, CEO, San Diego FC in a news release. “We believe our crest truly reflects the essence and spirit of San Diego. Our club strives to become the epicenter of football excellence and innovation in North America.”
The team’s brand was created by the design agency Pupila in collaboration with San Diego-based agency The House Of, following months of research conducted through focus groups, member surveys and meetings with the community.
That research unearthed four principal virtues club officials maintain “define San Diego” –
- Gratitude “for this beautiful place we call home”
- Proud, Not Loud, “living with a quiet and understated confidence”
- Diversity “of communities, neighborhoods, experiences and cultures”
- State of Flow, “performing at a peak level and embracing our unique rhythm of life”
Coinciding with the announcement, official San Diego FC merchandise is for sale on the club’s website, including scarves, outerwear, T-shirts, hats and youth apparel.
Doors for the festival were set to open at 6 p.m. with the announcement of the team’s name scheduled 90 minutes later.
The team, the 30th MLS club, will call Snapdragon home. Its ownership group is led by British-Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. The group also includes San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado.
The ownership is building a training facility and youth academy on 28 acres of Sycuan tribal land in El Cajon, land that houses part of the Pine Glen Golf Course and the Singing Hills Hotel. It will include a Right To Dream residential youth development academy, the first of its kind in the U.S.
The 125,000-square-foot campus will include a 50,000-square-foot sports performance facility and the renovation of 10 existing hotel buildings that will be repurposed for student housing, the Right To Dream school, employee housing/offices and guest accommodations.
It will also include five full-sized soccer fields – three natural turf and two synthetic turf.
Staff and wire services contributed to this report.
Updated 8:30 p.m. Oct. 20, 2023
