Major League Soccer officials are expected to announce details today of a new franchise that will begin playing in Los Angeles in 2017, replacing Chivas USA, which disbanded this week.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Monday that the new franchise “will have world-class ownership with local connections and residency and a commitment to a new soccer stadium in the greater Los Angeles area.”
The team’s ownership group will be headed by Vietnamese venture capitalist Henry Nguyen and film producer Peter Guber, who is also a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The ownership group will also include Vincent Tan, the Malaysian owner of the English soccer team Cardiff City, according to The Times.
Chivas played for 10 years at StubHub Center in Carson, sharing the facility with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The struggling franchise, founded as a subsidiary of the popular Mexico club C.D. Guadalajara, was purchased by the league in February, with the intention of eventually selling it. Instead, the team played what turned out to be its final game on Sunday, a 1-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.
“I believe that our new strategy for Los Angeles provides the best opportunity for success and is the best way to connect with an engaged and impassioned fan base in Southern California,” Garber said this week
“I am confident that this new direction will help us achieve our goal of becoming one of the top leagues in the world.”
