LAFC and FC Bayern Munich announced on Monday a global soccer development cooperation named “Red&Gold Football.”
The Munich-based venture will provide a platform for young talent featuring high-level development and a pathway to first-team soccer.
“A partnership of this magnitude is the next step in our evolution as a club,” LAFC co-president & GM John Thorrington said in a release. “We are extremely excited to work together with FC Bayern to identify and develop young talent in Southern California and beyond, and believe this relationship will provide players throughout our systems the ability to maximize their potential and see a clear pathway to first-team football.”
The two clubs each own 50 percent of Red&Gold Football's shares and, together, envision further cooperation with other football clubs and development academies throughout the world as part of a global development initiative.
"FC Bayern will expand its promotion of young talent with Los Angeles Football Club. On an international level, soccer is developing rapidly, which is also evident in the transfer market. We see this partnership as an opportunity to strengthen FC Bayern in the sporting competition with the best clubs in Europe and the Bundesliga," said Oliver Kahn, CEO and chairman of the board of management for FC Bayern.
FC Bayern have previously partnered with FC Dallas – known for developing Weston McKennie, Kellyn Acosta, Jesús Ferreira and more – on player development and have further ties to MLS through world-class fullback Alphonso Davies, who moved from Vancouver Whitecaps FC to FC Bayern in a then-record-breaking MLS transfer worth more than $22 million in fee and total compensation in 2018.
"The fact that the 2026 World Cup will largely take place in the USA, where we already have an office in New York, makes Los Angeles even more attractive. I expect a boost in quality and young talent in Major League Soccer, which will have a positive impact on our partnership," said Kahn.
FC Bayern Munich opened their first international office in New York in 2014 with the ambition to help support the growth of soccer and support the level of the game in North America. The club has gone on to open additional offices in Shanghai (2017) and Bangkok (2022).
"The cooperation with Los Angeles Football Club gives us the chance to develop talent internationally within our own system. Our campus, which remains at the heart of FC Bayern's youth development, will also benefit," said Hasan Salihamidzic, FC Bayern's chief sports officer. “In the future, we will be able to offer our young players a career path that is even better tailored to them and thus a better transition into our professional teams and professional soccer. This makes FC Bayern more attractive as a youth development club."
In LAFC, Bayern are partnering with a club that boasts a proven track record of success in MLS. The Black & Gold won the MLS Cup-Supporters' Shield double in 2022, as well as the 2019 Supporters' Shield. They've also made the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in four out of five years since joining the league in 2018.
“This is a truly special moment for LAFC,” said LAFC co-president & CBO Larry Freedman of the joint venture. “We look forward to working together with our partner FC Bayern to not only develop talent and continue to grow our sport and our brand on the global stage, but to share best practices and improve our organizations off the pitch as well.”
