The first professional soccer team was formed in the Los Angeles area in 1955 when the owner of the Fall River Marksmen, Sam Mark, moved the team to the West Coast. In an effort to promote soccer on the west coast, he encouraged highly decorated soccer athletes from Fall River to transfer to the west coast.
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Several years after the formation of the North American Soccer League in 1968, the Los Angeles Aztecs joined NASL as an expansion team in 1974, and played from 1974 until 1981, folding after the 1981 season. The team featured international superstars such as George Best and Johan Cruyff. The team was at its most popular in 1979 and 1980, averaging over 12,000 fans both seasons.
In addition, the Los Angeles Skyhawks participated in the American Soccer League from 1976-1979.
L.A. Galaxy
The launch of Major League Soccer in 1996 included the newly formed Los Angeles Galaxy as one of the founding team. LA Soccer Partners were the original owners; Anschutz Entertainment Group is the current owner. The Galaxy won the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2000.
Women's professional soccer
In 2009, Los Angeles became home to a third top-level professional team, the Los Angeles Sol, a charter member of Women's Professional Soccer. WPS was the second attempt to establish a fully professional women's league in the U.S., after the demise of the Women's United Soccer Association (which did not have an L.A. representative). The Sol shared The Home Depot Center, now known as StubHub Center, with the Galaxy and Chivas USA, before ceasing operations in January 2010.
WPS folded after the 2011 season; its effective successor, the National Women's Soccer League, does not have a franchise in Los Angeles, or even in California.