San Diego Loyal SC

San Diego Loyal Soccer Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California.[3] The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan.[4] San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship.[5]

San Diego Loyal SC
Full nameSan Diego Loyal Soccer Club
FoundedJune 20, 2019 (2019-06-20)
StadiumTorero Stadium
Capacity6,000[1]
OwnerAndrew Vassiliadis[2]
Warren Smith
Landon Donovan
Executive VPLandon Donovan
ManagerLandon Donovan
LeagueUSL Championship
2020Inaugural Season
WebsiteClub website

History

On June 20, 2019, San Diego was awarded an expansion team in the USL Championship to debut in 2020 or 2021.[3] Warren Smith, one of the co-founders of Sacramento Republic FC, was named the President of the new club.[6][7] Former USMNT, LA Galaxy, and San Jose Earthquakes player, Landon Donovan, was named the Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations.[6][7] On November 14, 2019, Donovan was named as the club's first manager.[8] The team's name and crest was developed through fan engagement and to reflect the interests of the city.[7] On March 7, 2020, the team played their first competitive match, a 1–1 draw against Las Vegas Lights FC.

Stadium

The team signed a three-year letter of commitment to play at Torero Stadium.[7] Moreover, the initial three-year commitment comes with a series of one-year options for the following four years.[9] The team will initially focus on building a fan base and brand at Torero, noting that the stadium could be expanded to a capacity of 8,000.[9] Moreover, the team noted the possibility of sharing the prospective San Diego State University West stadium, at a 35,000 capacity, as a potential site for future years if they can cultivate the fan support.[9]

Supporters

The first supporters group established to support the team was The Locals Supporters Group.[10]

Sponsorship
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2020–present Adidas[11] Stone Brewing

Players and staff

Roster
As of July 6, 2020[12]
No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Austin Guerrero  United States
2 Defender Morgan Hackworth  United States
3 Midfielder Elijah Martin  United States
4 Midfielder Jack Metcalf  England
5 Defender Grant Stoneman  United States
6 Midfielder Charlie Adams  England
7 Midfielder Carlos Alvarez  United States
8 Defender Sal Zizzo  United States
9 Forward Qudus Lawal  Nigeria
11 Forward Irvin Parra  United States
12 Defender Eric Avila  United States
14 Midfielder Yair Jaén  Panama
15 Forward Tumi Moshobane  South Africa
16 Midfielder Beverly Makangila  DR Congo
17 Midfielder Collin Martin  United States
18 Defender Edwin Lara  Mexico
19 Midfielder Jerome Mbekeli  Cameroon
20 Defender Joseph Greenspan  United States
21 Forward Ashley Nazira  Mauritius
22 Forward Francis Atuahene (on loan from FC Dallas)  Ghana
23 Defender Emrah Klimenta  Montenegro
24 Goalkeeper Jake Fenlason  United States
25 Defender Jordan Chavez  United States
26 Midfielder Suleiman Samura  Sierra Leone
28 Goalkeeper Jon Kempin (on loan from Columbus Crew)  United States
29 Forward Ben Spencer  United States

Out on loan
No. Position Player Nation
— Goalkeeper Amal Knight (at FC Tucson)  Jamaica

Management and staff
As of November 16, 2019[13][14]
Technical Staff
EVP of soccer operations, manager Landon Donovan
Assistant coach Nate Miller
Goalkeeping coach Matt Hall
Senior advisor Paul Buckle
Senior advisor Shannon MacMillan
Front office staff
Chairman Andrew Vassiliadis
President & CEO Warren Smith
gollark: I think you might need !!UNSAFE CODE!!.
gollark: Yes. I think IEEE 754 ones can be compared integerously.
gollark: What? Oh beeoids (hypermemetic, class τ).
gollark: This doesn't sound entirely maze-y, you just need to do things a bit in advance of the obstacles.
gollark: Ew, is this doing mutable state too? BEE it.

References
  1. "Second-division USL team in San Diego prepares to start in 2020". San Diego Union-Tribune. September 17, 2019.
  2. Diego, USL San (October 1, 2019). "SAN DIEGO NATIVE ANDREW VASSILIADIS ANNOUNCED AS CHAIRMAN". San Diego Loyal SC.
  3. Staff, USLSoccer com (June 19, 2019). "United Soccer League Awards USL Championship Franchise in San Diego Market". USL Championship. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  4. "Landon Donovan to bring pro soccer to San Diego". fox5sandiego.com. June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  5. Zeigler, Mark (September 16, 2019). "Second-division USL team in San Diego prepares to start in 2020". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  6. "Executives". www.uslsandiego.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  7. "Landon Donovan, Warren Smith bring USL to San Diego". SI.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  8. "San Diego Loyal Announces Landon Donovan as Manager". San Diego Loyal SC. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  9. "Second-division USL soccer team coming to San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  10. "Twitter". mobile.twitter.com.
  11. "KITTED OUT: SD Loyal Announces Partnership with Adidas". USLChampionship.com Staff. January 18, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  12. "2020 Roster". sdloyal.com. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  13. "Administration". San Diego Loyal SC. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  14. "Technical Staff". San Diego Loyal SC. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.