San Diego FC charm their soccer-loving city: "The culture has been built" | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

At first, Paul Brown was hesitant about San Diego FC.

An Englishman who emigrated to Southern California over a decade ago, Brown already had plenty of soccer in his life. He’s a passionate Everton FC backer, active in the Toffees’ local supporters club, and had an established allegiance to Loyal SC, the USL Championship side that operated from 2020-23 but shuttered in advance of SDFC’s arrival.

Yet he was curious, and it helped that enough of the Locals, the Loyal SC supporters group of which he’s been a “day one” member, were interested in rooting for the new MLS team that the group decided to carry on, incorporating into La Frontera SD, the SDFC supporters union, ahead of the expansion club’s 2025 debut. Brown decided to give the Chrome-and-Azul a shot.

New home

Ten months later, he found himself all-in, surrounded by 32,501 other fans at the Western Conference Final at a packed Snapdragon Stadium as SDFC finally concluded a euphoric inaugural season that far eclipsed everyone’s expectations, making history along the way.

“I was on the fence the first year,” Brown explained to MLSsoccer.com as he and other Locals tailgated in the Purple Lot shortly before the big game last month, a DJ blasting SoCal hip-hop nearby underneath fluttering SDFC and Pride flags. “Ended up getting a season ticket, wanted to be part of it, just to see what's happening. And I think just the style of football that they play has really helped win me over.

“We don't score many ugly goals … Everything they've done has just really helped sort of win you over and make you want to come back.”

Standing next to him, his Locals comrade Paul Marshall nodded. He, too, had some reservations. But the gameday experience, and the assertive possession play produced by head coach Mikey Varas, star forward Anders Dreyer & Co., won him over.

“People here know the sport. They know football,” said Marshall. “We were 10-year season ticket holders with Xolos, [Club] Tijuana – we crossed the border for 10 years going to watch their games.

“But what this team does week in and week out … I mean, we’re fun to watch.”

Foundation established

Even with youngsters sprinkled throughout the lineups, San Diego played some of the boldest, riskiest soccer in MLS in year one, tilting the field with their ball dominance, baiting opponents into pressing them to break lines and slash open defense. It was inspiring, and it worked, propelling them to the top spot in the West while breaking MLS expansion records for points (63) and wins (19).

Combined with outreach to SGs old and new alike, driven by SDFC supporter relations manager Jerry Jimenez, it created the conditions for a vibrant ultras scene to blossom in Snapdragon’s north end, enhanced by the border region’s strong Latino character as well as the international influence of its substantial expat and refugee communities.

“At the beginning of the season – the supporters section was a little smaller then, too, it wasn't the full four sections – you just noticed there's noise coming from over there, and you could hear a chant,” explained Marshall, who elected to sit in a different stand, joking that he’s “too old to stand up for 90 minutes” as he moves into middle age.

“It's like a proper supporter section now,” he added. “Seriously though, these guys are doing it right, the young guys. That's what I want to see.”

As the wins stacked up, the stands filled in – and grew louder and rowdier, the songs becoming familiar, traditions being established.

“It's built over the season, right?” added Brown. “At the start of the season, the supporters groups had the songs nailed down, and at the other end of the stadium, you didn't really have anyone else singing. But now you'll hear the supporters group starting chants and then everyone in the stadium joining in. So as the season's gone on, it's really grown.”

The players on the pitch, many arriving from established soccer cultures abroad, took notice.

“I've been very surprised,” Danish captain Jeppe Tverskov told MLSsoccer.com at SDFC’s season-ending media availability.

“It feels like a lot of these guys that go to our games have football or soccer in the blood before there was a team here. You kind of feel the energy and the culture before we played our first game. So it feels like people in the city have been waiting for a team, and now we came.”

Bold style

It all peaked as Los Niños mounted their Audi MLS Cup Playoffs run, powered by a string of sell-out home crowds that helped push them past the Portland Timbers and Minnesota United FC. Everyone on the roster was aware they were taking part in the launch of a brand-new project in San Diego; they were thrilled to discover that their most dedicated fans weren’t starting from zero.

“That's why I signed here, because that feeling of a first year as a club in the history for San Diego,” said Dreyer, adding that he and his teammates are being recognized more and more on the street around town.

“It was something that I was really keen on, that I would love to try that. And now, standing here with experiences like at Snapdragon Stadium, so electric the last six, seven, eight months, it's been amazing. And of course, especially in the playoff games, it's been, not something you often see in Europe as well, with fans like that.”

The Western Conference Final ended in sadness for SDFC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC sweeping to a 3-1 victory to book a spot in MLS Cup presented by Audi. Yet the north end stayed full long after the final whistle, the SGs serenading their team with an intensity that suggested the legacy of their 2025 exploits will transcend the results on paper.

The personality of Varas’ squad, and the verve with which they carried out that ambitious game model, has nurtured a tangible connection with the home faithful, and a wider sense of identity.

“Now we feel like we are the place where, going in for next season and the coming seasons, it's just going to be so nice to go into those games knowing everybody's been behind us the way they've done,” said Tverskov.

“The culture has been built, both for us here, but especially also at the stands and us together. It's the first season, so there's been a lot of us also talking with them and kind of planning what to do, what we need, what they need from us.”

Forward momentum

While blessed with idyllic weather, a bustling economy and high quality of life, San Diego has been called a ‘cursed’ sports city. Aside from the perennial indoor soccer powerhouse Sockers, none of its professional teams have won major championships, a history dotted with heartbreak – and the trauma of the NFL’s Chargers skipping town for Los Angeles in 2017.

Things feel different around SDFC.

“It's beautiful,” said star Mexican winger Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano, “what this club has been able to generate in the city.”

The Chrome-and-Azul managed to connect with both the city’s soccer scene and its sense of place, converting even skeptics along the way. It all bodes well for their ambitions in 2026, and beyond.

“We had the infrastructure here somewhat before,” noted Marshall. “There's some EPL [English Premier League] guys that wanted nothing to do with MLS for whatever reason, but a lot of them are going now. And again, success has brought people over – suddenly, ‘yeah, what's going on here?’

“Once you walk in the stadium, you experience a really good win, you walk out, you go, ‘I want to go back.’ And before you know it, you’re buying season tickets.”

San Diego FC: Bright future after historic debut season