A day after presenting beautiful murals throughout San Diego County depicting midfielder Alejandro Guido, defender Colin Martin, and goalkeeper Duran Ferree, San Diego Loyal SC officially unveiled its 2023 season kits to the public gathered at Adams Avenue Theater on Saturday night.
The event coincided with the 41st birthday of soccer legend Landon Donovan who is the team’s co-founder and now serves as executive vice-president of soccer operations helping lead San Diego Loyal to two postseason appearances as head coach from 2020 to 2022.
The new kits were first shown as part of the individual mural presentations on Friday afternoon starting with Martin (Hillcrest) followed by Guido (Chula Vista), and finally Ferree (Mission Valley) as part of a celebratory collaboration with local street artists Paul Jimenez and Signe Ditona of Ground Floor Murals.
“The representation of our club through inspiring artwork around San Diego is an incredible tribute to our players, fans, and the soccer community,” said San Diego Loyal president Ricardo Campos. “Our collaboration with CHARLY Fútbol amplifies our roots and deep connection with our community. We thank CHARLY Fútbol for continuing to provide world-class customization, creating true works of art for our club and all of San Diego to be proud of.”
The 2023 kits also display first-time front-of-kit sponsor BluPeak Credit Union along with Tequila Corralejo as the 2023 back-of-kit sponsor with Rady Children’s Hospital returning on the right sleeve with $25 from each goalkeeper kit sale directly benefiting Rady Children’s Hospital.
The event on Saturday night was attended by hundreds of San Diego Loyal fans, local celebrities, athletes, political representatives, and social media influencers.
SD Loyal now sets its sights on the regular season opener on Saturday, March 11 versus Detroit City FC at Torero Stadium after wrapping up preseason preparations with a 1-0 victory over Central Valley Fuego on Saturday afternoon. This will be the first head-to-head match between San Diego and Detroit City with the team from Michigan joining USL Championship last year after dominating the National Independent Soccer Association with three-straight championships and a 27-game unbeaten streak from 2020 to 2021, which still stands as the longest unbeaten streak in history among active U.S. professional leagues. In 2022 Le Rouge, as Detroit City is nicknamed, made it to the Eastern Conference playoffs as the seventh-seed before losing in the first round to second-seeded Memphis 901 FC.
Photo courtesy: SD Loyal
