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Sting's son is starting a new soccer team in Los Angeles
There is a new soccer team coming to Los Angeles: City of Angels FC. And one of their co-owners is Joe Sumner, a musician and app developer better known as Sting's son.
Sumner grew up in North London and probably should have supported Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur, but ended up a Newcastle fan because of his father. Now he's intent on starting a new club on another continent in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles.
City of Angels FC will play in the NPSL, the fourth division. And while the LA Galaxy have set up shop south of the city in Carson, and LAFC is going to be steps from downtown in Exposition Park, City of Angels FC is going north of the city center. They're going to be based in the San Fernando Valley, which has 1.8 million people, but no soccer team.
Sumner and his friend and co-founder, P.J. Harrison, have spent two years putting this club together and paid $20,000 for the license. Their goal is to develop young players who they feel have been priced out of the American soccer development system.
As Sumner told the Guardian, "There has to be an American Messi out there."
There's no telling how an NPSL team will do in Los Angeles. They'll be far away from the Galaxy and LAFC, giving them access to a different, but still large market. They'll also be the first sports team in the San Fernando Valley, giving the area a true local team. But most lower division soccer teams that find success do so in cities that don't have much professional sports competition or are in small markets. The San Fernando Valley may be a drive away from the rest of the LA sports scene, but it's still LA and this team will have all the sports and entertainment competition that comes with being in the LA market.
“We could show up there and it will just be me and Joe in the stands. That is possible but we will only know before the first game. That’s a bit scary but also exciting. NPSL allows you to build an organic club and we can do that if a thousand people show up and become engaged. In terms of player development, we are hoping it will be a 10-year project.”
If the club is still alive in 10 years, it will be a success. If it's developing players for decent leagues, it will be incredible.
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