The Rise of San Diego FC
On a sunny day earlier this month, the players of San Diego FC, an expansion team set to join Major League Soccer (MLS), gathered at the Empire Polo Club for a preseason exhibition match against New York City FC. As they stepped onto the field, a familiar chant echoed through the air, breaking the tranquility of the manicured grounds. "El Chucky Lozano!" the crowd called out, a rhythmic and unified cry that has followed Mexican forward Chucky Lozano since the 2018 World Cup. This moment underscored the significance of Lozano’s arrival, even before San Diego FC had played its first official MLS game.
A Signature Player for a New Era
San Diego FC, which will bring the total number of MLS teams to 30, is set to make its debut on Sunday against the reigning champions, the LA Galaxy, at Dignity Health Sports Park. Despite the team’s lack of regular-season wins, cultural identity, or historical legacy, San Diego FC already has a star in Chucky Lozano, a 29-year-old Mexican forward with an impressive eight-year career in Europe. Tom Penn, the team’s chief executive officer, emphasized the importance of Lozano, drawing a parallel to his previous role as president of LAFC, where he successfully signed Carlos Vela as the signature player for the team’s inaugural season in 2018. Vela’s success, including breaking the MLS scoring record and leading LAFC to two MLS Cup finals, set a high bar for what San Diego FC hopes to achieve with Lozano.
Why Chucky Chose San Diego
Lozano’s decision to join San Diego FC was influenced by several factors, but primarily by the city’s appeal, the quality of the league, and the club’s connection to the Right to Dream youth academy. Founded in Ghana and now operating in four countries, Right to Dream is a series of residential schools and training centers co-owned by San Diego FC co-owner Mohamed Mansour. Lozano, speaking in Spanish, explained, "The whole San Diego project, the Right to Dream, the club. All that caught my attention. That’s why I chose San Diego.”
Building on a Solid Foundation
While San Diego FC is a new team, it is not starting from scratch. The Right to Dream academies have a track record of success, having graduated over 260 students, with more than 150 players moving on to professional clubs and over 65 to national teams. This foundation provides a model for the fledgling MLS team. Coach Mikey Vargas, whose only senior-level managerial experience was a two-game stint as interim coach of the U.S. national team, emphasized the importance of alignment within the team. "We’re not starting everything from scratch because we already have a model," Vargas said. "It’s how do we adapt it to make it unique and accessible and successful in MLS.”
The Responsibility of Building a Legacy
As an expansion club, San Diego FC has the unique challenge and opportunity to define its culture and history. Vargas stressed the importance of the team’s actions in the present, noting, "The club’s going to be here in 100 years. We’re not. So when the club is able to reach back, they’re going to reach back on what we do and what steps we take right now. That’s a massive responsibility. Because you don’t just affect your present, but you’re really going to affect the trajectory of the club 50, 100 years into the future.”
A Diverse and Motivated Roster
To build this legacy, San Diego FC has assembled a diverse roster of players from 14 different countries. The team includes U.S. World Cup veteran Luca de la Torre, former LAFC players Pablo Sisniega and Tomás Ángel, former English Premier League defender Paddy McNair, and Right to Dream graduate Ema Boateng, who spent three seasons with the Galaxy. Boateng, born in Ghana and raised in a house without running water or electricity, started his soccer journey at the Right to Dream academy at the age of 12. He teared up while giving a moving speech at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Right to Dream’s newest facility in El Cajon, Calif., where the MLS team will also train. "I’m forever filled with gratitude when I think of Right to Dream," Boateng said. "At first it was basically a charity that helped me and gave me a chance. Now it’s an organization that I play for.”
For Lozano, the sense of family and community is palpable. "The complete San Diego project, everything that is around San Diego, the city, the people, being part of that caught my attention," he said. Lozano hopes that the rest of MLS will soon be paying attention to San Diego as well.
