HUGE News for San Diego Soccer Youth: SD Loyal to launch Loyal Select. PLUS: advice for families

San Diego Loyal Soccer Club recently announced huge news for San Diego’s aspiring soccer players. Loyal Select is coming and will be joining the USL Academy League (USL A). First things first: SD Loyal is NOT launching their own youth academy. SD Loyal will be leveraging the already-robust youth soccer landscape across the San Diego […]
Game Day for Loyal vs Sac Republic

It’s GAME DAY for San Diego Loyal Soccer Club The boys of Loyal SC will take on Sacramento Republic at Torero Stadium at 7pm. Watch the game on the CW San Diego or ESPN+. Is Warren Smith Loyal? Warren Smith came to San Diego by way of Sacramento. Smith was instrumental in building Sacramento Republic. […]
MLS is Back! What You Need to Know about the Orlando Tournament

Major League Soccer has released details about their “MLS is Back Tournament.” Games begin July 8th Games will begin Wednesday July 8th at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Teams can begin arriving on June 24th. Teams must arrive in Florida no later than seven days before their first match. Start times will be […]
Carlos Vela brilliance sees LAFC past David Beckhams Inter Miami FC

On opening day at the Banc of California Stadium the reigning MLS MVP conjured up a goal worthy of that title. After getting past 4 Inter Miami defenders Vela had the wherewithal to lift the ball over the Inter Miami goalkeeper. The 18 yard chip proved to be the games only goal. Chants of MVP […]
MLS is back! LAFC wallpaper and Pics for You

The 2020 MLS season is off and running! American soccer fans got a very satisfying appetizer last week with Concacaf Champions League play. Four of the eight remaining teams in CCL are Major League Soccer clubs. NYCFC, Montreal Impact, Atlanta United, and LAFC in CCL quarter-finals This is good news for American soccer. MLS is […]
How APFC is changing the way youth players learn the game in Southern California

I’m sitting with Co Founder of APFC, Bernat Franquesa. His program includes camps, training and private lessons, player video analysis, cognitive virtual reality, European tours, consulting for youth clubs/academies and courses for coaches. Full disclaimer: I have known and spent time on the pitch with Bernat for the past 3 years. His vision is clear […]
SD Loyal Announces MLS Veteran and San Diego Native Salvatore Zizzo Jr. as the Team’s First Signing

Zillo had announced his retirement earlier this year. The draw of playing for his hometown team under Landon Donovan, however, was too appealing to pass up for Zizzo. Zizzo said, “When Landon [Donovan] called and told me about the opportunity, I didn’t hesitate; it was worth returning to the game,” Zizzo, a true San Diego […]
OPINION: Playoffs are American. Promotion Relegation can stay away.

A few months ago, I was meeting our newest team member here at SoccerNation. Richard Nightengale and I sat across the Soccerloco conference table from each other and (duh) started talking soccer. He loves the Wolves of Wolverhampton. I’m Chelsea blue when it comes to English football. So, with relief, we agreed that we could […]
What Does California’s New Law Mean for Soccer Players?

Hint: A little bit, but not much. Over the last week, California has been making waves in the world of college sports. With a stroke of his pen, California Governor Gavin Newsom upended the landscape of big-money college sports. SB206, the “Fair Pay to Play Act,” will allow college athletes to hire agents and make […]
Making history. LAFC and Carlos Vela’s Left Foot Rewrite the Record Books

LAFC October 6, 2019: A photo album It would have been presumptuous to assume Vela would break the MLS single-season scoring record. Last week, with one game left, Vela was tied at the top of the record chart with Josef Martinez. It’s no surprise however, especially to LAFC fans, that Vela not only broke the […]
El Traffico is coming. And LAFC’s young influencers are all over it.

Meet the “Tekker Squad.” The team of enterprising social media experts behind LAFC’s viral fandom culture. USL San Diego is ramping up, with name/colors/crest announcements coming soon. San Diego soccer fans can use LAFC’s fan culture as a blueprint for a successful and passionate supporters’ culture. Follow these young soccer fans for a fun El […]
Heart and Soul: Latif (Sharing the) Blessing

The sky was cloudy, and there was a chill in the air. But as soon as Latif Blessing sat down across from me alongside the LAFC training pitch, he brought the sunshine. If you’ve watched Latif play, you’ve seen his smile. He plays with youthful exuberance and joy that are impossible to ignore. His club […]
LAFC: A Fan Experience Worthy of the Entertainment Capital of the World

Southern California is somewhat notorious for fickle and apathetic sports fans. SoCal boasts sparkling beaches and mountains within hours of each other and near-perfect weather year-round. It’s easy to understand why the population’s attention doesn’t need the distraction that other American cities’ sports teams provide. But when families and fans enter the Banc of California […]
Cincinnati Selected as 26th Major League Soccer Franchise

And then there were two. On Tuesday May 29th, FC Cincinnati was awarded a place in Major League Soccer, becoming the 26th franchise in a league that has announced it will cap expansion with 28 teams. FC Cincinnati will begin MLS play in 2019, following three years in the United Soccer League, the nation’s only […]
Steve Brockhoff and Daryl Biggs Join the SoccerNation Podcast

Steve Brockhoff and Daryl Biggs jump on the latest SoccerNation Podcast – powered by soccerloco to talk about the recent news that the SoccerCity San Diego Original Supporters Group is spinning off and becoming member-run. The OSG was actually first started by the SoccerCity team last year as a way to validate interest in their […]
Jason Barbato Joins the SoccerNation Podcast

On the latest edition of the SoccerNation Podcast – powered by soccerloco, Jason Barbato drops by to talk about literally everything. We talk about the origins of the North County Battalion who played in the NPSL for one glorious year before pivoting to PDL and adding a youth component to their first team with San […]