By Sandra G Leon

Former US Men’s under-20 national soccer team coach Mikey Varas will be the first Manager of the new MLS San Diego FC team when it debuts next year.

Varas, 41, lead the younger national team to the CONCACAF U20 Championship in 2022 before stepped in as interim coach of the US Men’s national team this year as they searched for a permanent coach.

"We believe Mikey is the perfect choice to lead San Diego FC as the club’s first head coach," club Chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour said in a statement.

Mansour, an Egyptian-born British billionaire, is the principal investor in the new soccer team along with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, Padres superstar Manny Machado, and local developer Brad Termini, among others.

"I am honored to join San Diego FC as the club’s first head coach," Varas in the statement. "The opportunity to build something special from the ground up, with such ambitious and committed ownership, and in a city with such a passionate fan base, is truly exciting,” he added.

San Diego FC will become the 30th team in Major League Soccer joining LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC, Inter Miami CF, last year’s addition of St. Louis FC, and 22 other teams around the country and three teams in Canada.

The San Diego FC team has already signed six players, including Mexican player Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, who has ben playing PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands after having started his career with Mexico’s Liga MX’s Pachuca and 70 games with the Mexican national team.

Chucky Lozano

San Diego FC will play its home matches SDSU’s Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley and is building a training facility near Sycuan casino in San Diego County’s East County that will also house their Right to Dream Youth Development Academy.