Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson has built a business empire in retirement and added to that Thursday as part-owner of a new MLS club in Los Angeles.
Major League Soccer announced Thursday that a new team has been awarded to Los Angeles.
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The Los Angeles Football Club is set to begin play in 2017 and will replace recently folded Chivas USA as a local rival to the established
.
The ownership group is led by entrepreneur Henry Nguyen, Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber and former NBA executive Tom Penn.
The ownership group also includes Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, also a part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and sports star couple Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm Garciaparra.
Motivational guru Tony Robbins is also part of the group.
"“We are thrilled to welcome Henry Nguyen, Peter Guber, Tom Penn and their owner partners to Major League Soccer,” commissioner Don Garber said at a press conference Thursday. “This visionary ownership group will chart a course that will further elevate the sport in this great city and, combined with a new state-of-the-art stadium, accelerate us down the path toward becoming one of the top soccer leagues in the world.”"
Nguyen is managing general partner of IDG Ventures Vietnam and moved to the United States from his native Vietnam as a small child.
MLS will expand to 22 teams in 2017 with the additions of Los Angeles Football Club and a new expansion team in Atlanta, with two more teams to be added by 2020.
The branding for LAFC will be announced at a later date.
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- LA Galaxy vs. Club Leon Leagues Cup match rescheduled for July 26