Major League Soccer’s newest franchise, Los Angeles FC, launched on Thursday – with Hollywood star Will Ferrell as co-owner.
The former Saturday Night Live star, best known for comedy films such as Elf and Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy, joins former LA Lakers star Magic Johnson and ex-women’s national team footballer Mia Hamm in a star-studded ownership group.
Having been called on to the stage at the team’s launch event when Hamm asked “You want in?”, Ferrell announced: ”This is not a joke. I’m actually a member of this fine ownership group.”
Cardiff chairman Vincent Tan and QPR director Ruben Gnanalingam also feature in a 26-strong ownership group under president Tom Penn, formerly vice-president of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and now an analyst for ESPN, executive chairman Peter Guber and managing partner Henry Nguyen.
Regarding the sprawling club structure, Nguyen said: “From the outside it seems cumbersome. It’s a joy to have such a collection of incredibly successful, experienced, talented people contributing their ideas.”
The new franchise will enter the league from 2018 as the replacement for now-defunct Chivas USA. They will become LA’s second team after the Galaxy, who count former Premier League stars Robbie Keane and Steven Gerrard among their squad.
LAFC will play in a purpose-built 22,000-seat stadium in the south of the city, adjacent to the University of South California’s American football stadium.
Thursday also saw them unveil their crest – the letters LA with a wing incorporated into the A, in the club’s black-and-gold colour scheme.
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