Glamorous and successful: that is what lies behind the LAFC football empire

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2014 is the founding year of the Los Angeles Football Club. Thanks to the acquisition of Chivas’ license, the franchise entered Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2018, quickly overtaking city rivals LA Galaxy and quickly developing into one of the most successful clubs in the league founded in 1994. They reached the final of the CONCACAF Champions League in 2020 and LAFC won the championship two years later.

The best-known name within the club besides the Mexican Carlos Vela is the Italian European champion Giorgio Chiellini, who joined head coach Steven Cherundolo’s staff after his dismissal at the end of last year. Swiss goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic (39) was also under contract with LAFC last year, where he had to content himself with the role of substitute. A few weeks ago the club signed French world champion captain Hugo Lloris. The game will be played in the BMO Stadium, which opened in 2018 and where the 22,000 seats are consistently sold out.

Franchise value: 1 billion

According to the business magazine Forbes, ten years after its founding, LAFC is already the most valuable club in the MLS with an estimated value of almost a billion dollars. According to figures published in May, annual turnover is $116 million and annual profit is $8 million. Executive director is film producer Peter Guber, the owner and founder of Mandalay Entertainment Group. Guber also owns stock in the LA Dodgers (baseball) and is co-executive director of the Golden State Warriors (basketball).

Among the 20 or so people who own shares in LAFC are illustrious names such as Mia Hamm, women’s football’s first global superstar. Her husband Normar Garciaparra, a former MLB baseball player, Lakers basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson and actor Will Ferrell are also among the owners. While the owners have no control over operations, they all have roles in the organization, LAFC co-chairman Larry Freedman said. “You can assume that one or the other will show up at a match in Zurich.” Will Ferrell, whose wife is Swedish, often spends time in Europe.

Joint venture with Bayern Munich

Since March, there has been a collaboration between LAFC and Bayern Munich, forming a joint venture called “Red&Gold Football”. This is about strategic cooperation, especially in the promotion of young talent. Racing de Montevideo from Uruguay and a football academy based in Gambia also belong to this construct.

GC will not, at least legally, be part of this joint venture, nor will Wacker Innsbruck, which was taken over by LAFC last spring but currently only plays in Austria’s fifth highest division after forced relegation in 2022 due to high debts. There are no plans to expand the portfolio for the time being. “We are well positioned globally,” says Freedman. “Now it’s time to catch your breath.”

Source : Blick