San Diego FC looks to future with academy program like no other
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A rendering of the San Diego FC Performance Center and Right to Dream Academy. Photo: Provided by SDFC
Ahead of its inaugural MLS season next year, San Diego FC is investing in the future by building a fully funded residential program, school and youth soccer academy.
Why it matters: The club is looking to break the pay-to-play model that's prevalent in U.S. youth soccer.
State of play: Other MLS clubs operate soccer academies; however, this will be the first to offer a free residential training program with a privately operated school for middle and high schoolers, according to SDFC.
- The club hopes to develop and educate talented players on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border who might never have had a shot at a college or professional career.
Zoom in: The SDFC Right to Dream Academy is under construction on the Sycuan reservation in El Cajon.
- The 28-acre, $150 million campus will have classrooms, dorms, dining facilities, a sports performance center and five full-sized fields (turf and grass) for about 100 players.
- The complex is scheduled to open in January and the academy in fall 2025.
- The MLS team and youth players as young as 12 will share the facilities, so kids will be eating lunch in the cafeteria with SDFC's marquee player and Mexican star Chucky Lozano.
The intrigue: Girls will be able to join the academy in fall 2026, making it the first fully funded professional player-development program for female players in North America, according to the club.
The big picture: San Diego is joining the international Right to Dream program that's graduated hundreds of players in Ghana, Denmark and Egypt over the past two decades.
- The model is designed to train players to go college or pro and, eventually, to fuel SDFC's roster.
What they're saying: "The opportunities for the kids that can't afford it are not being given," the club and academy's executive vice president Joaquin Escoto told Axios.
- "The best players are not playing in the big tournaments; they're outside. So, our challenge is to find them and give them opportunities," he said.
- This academy will be a "golden ticket" for the next generation of local players to make a professional or top collegiate team, he said.
Driving the news: The academy will hold free open tryouts Aug. 7-8 for boys in Chula Vista and Aug. 12 in Tijuana, Mexico.
- Slots are filling up quickly, with thousands of kids registered, so SDFC is looking at adding more dates, Escoto said.
Catch up quick: In a record $500 million deal, the MLS added San Diego as an expansion team last May.
- SDFC will play at Snapdragon Stadium when it starts play in the 2025 season that kicks off in February.
- The team is owned by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. Padres third baseman Manny Machado is also part of the investor group.
- The club is still building its roster and coaching staff but inked a jersey sponsorship deal with DirecTV last week.
What's next: In partnership with DirecTV, SDFC is hosting local watch parties for soccer games at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris:
- USMNT vs. France, noon today, Northside Tavern in Ocean Beach.
- USWNT vs. Zambia, noon Thursday, O'Brien's Pub in Kearny Mesa.