WHO OWNS WHAT

The entity map.

Most SoCal clubs look like independent operations run by parents and volunteers. A handful aren't. They share the same for-profit management companies, investment firms, and holding entities — and those companies don't show up on any single club's Form 990. This page tracks them directly.

Pioneer Sports & Entertainment, LLC

also: Pioneer Capital Group, LLC · Surf Sports, LLC · Surf Soccer, LLC

Jurisdiction: Florida (branch registered in CA)
Formed: March 2022
Self-description: “Sports investment firm” — ownership & administration of sports clubs, events, tournaments, facilities
Known reach: Also holds a stake in Rush Soccer, one of the largest youth soccer networks in the world (125+ clubs, 50 countries)

San Diego Surf Owns the events/tournament business (Surf Sports LLC) and the club brand entity (Surf Soccer LLC); the original 1970s club and a 1994 tournament nonprofit remain as separate legacy entities.

LA Surf A 2019 merger of three LA-area clubs operating under the licensed Surf brand. No standalone LA Surf nonprofit was found; how it relates to the Pioneer-controlled Surf entities, and any fees involved, isn't public.

Sporting Club Management Company, L.P.

also: Sporting California LLC · Sporting California Inc. · Sporting California Corona Inc.

Jurisdiction: California
Formed: 1990 (LP) · 2020–2024 (regional entities)
General partner: SPOA, Inc., a Delaware corporation
Known reach: A named individual, Jon Szczuka, links Sporting California LLC directly to Pateadores' own compensation table

Pateadores Jon Szczuka, sole manager of Sporting California LLC, drew $119K–$190K a year as a Pateadores "Director" from FY2016 through FY2021 — then dropped off the nonprofit's payroll entirely the year after the LLC was formed.

Slammers FC "Sporting Slammers FC," an Irvine venture with the Ryan Lemmon Foundation, operates under the same Sporting umbrella — alongside a separate HB Køge/Capelli Sport branding partnership.

Sporting California Sporting California Inc (EIN 87-2208880) is a standalone 501(c)(3), formed 2021–22, that reached $4.2M in revenue by 2024. Its own Form 990 does not name this LP or any related entity; the shared "Sporting California" naming is documented, the financial link is not.

City Sports Group, LLC

Carlsbad, CA

Jurisdiction: California
Formed: December 2019
Managers: Stephen Cowell, Michael Duggan, Carl Higham, Glenn Malone
Known reach: Same four people were paid ~$108K each by the nonprofit in FY2024, then $0 in FY2025 — the year this LLC's national franchise network scaled

City SC Managers of this LLC are the same four people listed as full-time, $0-compensation "Directors" on Carlsbad United FC's FY2025 Form 990.

Legends FC, Inc.

Norco, CA

Jurisdiction: California
Formed: April 23, 2015
Officers: Joshua Hodges (sole officer — CEO, CFO, Secretary, Director)
Known reach: Nonprofit's revenue and expenses collapsed 81%–95% over two years, the same period the sole officer's nonprofit compensation fell to $0

Legends FC The largest, clearest financial collapse of any club in this project: nonprofit revenue fell from $5.97M (FY2022) to $1.13M (FY2024) while the sole officer of this for-profit sibling company saw his own nonprofit pay drop from $219,188 to $0 in the same window.

Albion SC network & Albion San Diego (pro)

San Diego, CA · CEO Noah Gins

Youth nonprofit: Peninsula Soccer League, dba Albion SC (EIN 33-0640425)
Affiliates: Santa Clarita (EPS Soccer Program, 42-1930847), Central Cal (Central Cal Soccer Club Corp, 92-2573821), plus Fairfield, Miami, Hawaii, Southern Minnesota — each its own corporation
Professional: Albion San Diego, formed Dec. 2021 by combining with San Diego 1904 FC; played NISA 2022–23, on hiatus since 2024

Albion SC San Diego A franchise-style national network and a professional club, both run under one CEO, sitting on top of a youth nonprofit that has reported negative net assets in three separate years. How money moves among the entities is not disclosed in the nonprofit's Form 990.

Los Angeles Football Club

for-profit MLS club · brand partner

Relationship: "LAFC So Cal Youth" — brand & player-development partnership since March 2021
Known reach: ~4,000 youth players in LAFC colors; part of the MLS Youth Affiliate Network

Real So Cal The legal entity is West Valley Soccer League, a 501(c)(3) chartered in 1977 with $5.35M in reserves. Since 2021 it has operated as LAFC So Cal Youth. Whether it pays a licensing or affiliation fee to the for-profit MLS club, and how much, is not in the nonprofit's public filings.

Rebels San Diego Soccer Club, LLC

Bonita, CA

Jurisdiction: California
Formed: September 26, 2024
Managers: Abel Martinez, Joseph Tedesco, Ryan Marquez
Known reach: Formed with a near-identical name to the 40-year-old nonprofit, using an out-of-state professional registered agent

Rebels SC The legacy nonprofit's Secretary, Abel Martinez, is also a manager of this LLC — confirmed via cross-referenced filings. What the LLC actually does hasn't been confirmed.

Not an accusation

A club sharing officers or an address with a for-profit company isn't a scandal by itself. Tournaments, apparel, and facilities routinely sit outside the nonprofit for tax and liability reasons, and plenty of clubs run this way with nothing to hide. This page just puts the structure on the record, so families and reporters can ask the next question with the facts already in hand.