LA Galaxy, for 20 years now, has dominated Los Angeles’ impressive fandom for the world’s sport—soccer. However, after Major League Soccer (MLS) team Chivas USA lost their home in Los Angeles, the newest replacement, the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), officially announced its debut to the MLS in March of 2018. The team finally determined the official name, Los Angeles Football Club, after months of controversial engagement with supporters, partners, stakeholders, and founding season ticket members. LAFC already is a threat to the LA Galaxy’s reign over Los Angeles as the team gains more and more popularity.

“The name that we chose is true to Los Angeles, authentic to the world of football and speaks to our global ambitions,” LAFC Managing Partner and Owner Henry Nguyen told Sports News reporter Greg Beacham of The Big Story.

LAFC, for the first time in MLS history, launched a social media campaign to give its early supporters a voice in selecting the Club’s official colors. On Twitter, LAFC asked its supporters to vote for the colors by either retweeting or favoriting. LAFC then tallied the votes and found red and black as the preferred color by most of their supporters. The LAFC Club Colors campaign that grabbed the attention of thousands was only one part of the team’s ongoing effort to engage its supporters across social media. LAFC seeks to include all of its supporters in a collaborative effort to build the new team together, which is necessary to achieve the team’s goal of getting in the mainstream of the soccer world.

“We promise to give our supporters an opportunity to have a significant voice as we build and co-create this Club together,” Tom Penn, LAFC’s President and Owner told Sports News reporter Greg Beacham of The Big Story.

The Club has already generated thousands of likes, shares, favorites, and retweets across the social media board. Even though LAFC has not yet launched officially, the team has already won the hearts of many MLS fans.

“Well I don’t doubt that the new team will be a strong club and a new rival to LA Galaxy considering the location. [The new team] will bring a new atmosphere,” CHS Varsity Soccer team captain and senior Jack Kolodge said.

The team’s 24-member ownership group, including former U.S. World Cup superstar Mia Hamm, NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, MLB All-Star Nomar Garciaparra, sports and entertainment mogul Peter Guber, and businessmen Ruben Gnanalingam and Vincent Tan, lead LAFC’s intent to build a new stadium in Downtown Los Angeles at the site of the former Los Angeles Sports Arena. The new development, which will be funded by $250 million in private investment, will be anchored by a new 22,000-seat stadium solely for the game of soccer.

“We are committed to making our home in South Los Angeles and to be part of the phenomenal development happening along the Figueroa corridor that extends to downtown Los Angeles,” Nguyen told Sports News reporter Greg Beacham of The Big Story.

By the looks of everything thus far, LAFC is already aspiring for greatness in the eyes of their fans and in the heart of Los Angeles. The team, at the launch of its social media campaign, seeks to connect with its fans, supporting them as they support the team. Additionally, LAFC is under the ownership of athletes who have a passion for soccer. All in all, LAFC is establishing itself as the new team to Los Angeles, the new rival to the LA Galaxy, and the new way to truly appreciate and enjoy the beautiful game of soccer.