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California is about to get a fourth Major League Soccer team.
MLS is expected to announce plans for a 30th team on Thursday in San Diego, according to the London Times. Mohamed Mansour, a British-Egyptian billionaire and Conservative Party treasurer, is reportedly set to buy the franchise for $500 million.
The club is set to be owned by Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, which is an indigenous American tribe that has been based in the San Diego area for more than 12,000 years. The total investment into the organization could top $700 million.
An official announcement is expected on Thursday. The club will enter the league for the 2025 season. The move will bring Mansour closer to purchasing a soccer club in England. He currently owns a Danish Superliga team, and has “definitely” had an English team on his radar in recent years. According to the report, the 75-year-old is worth about $3.6 billion.
San Diego already has two professional soccer clubs in the city. The San Diego Wave are one of the National Women’s Soccer League’s newest clubs, and the San Diego Loyal compete in the USL. That franchise is coached by former USMNT star Landon Donovan.
MLS has expanded significantly in recent years. Both Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC entered the league in 2020. Austin, Charlotte and St. Louis then followed in subsequent years. St. Louis City SC was the 29th team in the league, and it started play this season. It was the ninth new team added to the league since 2019.
MLS commissioner Don Garber said earlier this year that the league would announce plans for a 30th team by the “end of the year.” San Diego was a finalist, along with Las Vegas. It’s unclear if MLS will try to expand past 30 teams — which brings it even with the NBA and MLB.
