Goodbye, Chivas USA. Hello, Los Angeles Football Club!
By Sean Maslin
Los Angeles finally has a football club! No wait, not that kind of football.
Although for some what might have been seen as a cruel late April Fools Day joke for others it is a sigh of relief. The second option for soccer in Los Angeles has returned and it will be called Los Angeles Football Club.
In a statement released to the public, Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) club managing partner and owner Henry Nguyen said, “The name that we chose is true to Los Angeles, authentic to world football and speaks to our global ambitions.”
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The name was chosen, according to the club, after having consulted with supporters and also potential sponsors. No word was given on the other choices.
For those who are just catching on to this situation here is a short breakdown: in October 2014 after ten years of operation Chivas U.S.A. ceased operations. Within about a month’s time the league announced that a new Los Angeles-based club would take their place with luminaries like Magic Johnson, Tom Penn, Nomar Garciaparra, and the joy of Cardiff City Vincent Tan part of a 24-person ownership group.
Since announcing that the team is looking to build a 22,000 seat stadium in south Los Angeles this is the first bit of news that the team has made in quite some time. What is interesting about the choice of name was that LAFC was the original placeholder name for the franchise.
In terms of names it does pay homage to the traditional European way of coming up with a team name. However LAFC are not the first squad to do this so they really should not be faulted for hoping on the bandwagon.
Where the real debate will be is in the colors and the team nickname. The team is currently asking for supporter’s input on the color scheme, although given their Twitter handle it appears that they are partial to red and black. As for a team name it is unlikely that it will happen but yours truly was always partial to The Goats. It is a tip of the cap to the ghost of Chivas U.S.A. but more importantly a nod to the supporters who LAFC will undoubtedly try to court.