During the 2026 World Cup, the Los Angeles Aztecs appeared on RTVE, Spain’s national public broadcaster.
Not because we bought coverage.
Not because somebody owed us a favour.
Because they thought the story was worth telling.
That matters.
RTVE looked back at the history of the Aztecs, but the piece went beyond nostalgia.
It asked the more important question.
Why bring the Los Angeles Aztecs back at all?
Because football has enough resurrected logos.
Enough retro shirts.
Enough brands digging through old photographs because nostalgia sells.
That cannot be the Aztecs.
Cruyff. Best. Michels.
The history is extraordinary.
Johan Cruyff played for the Los Angeles Aztecs.
So did George Best.
Rinus Michels managed the club.
Three names that helped shape modern football.
That gives us something most start-up clubs would kill for.
History.
Identity.
Culture.
A story that already means something.
But history is not a business model.
And it is not a reason to exist.
If all we do is revive the badge, print shirts and post photographs of Cruyff, then we have wasted the opportunity.
The Aztecs need a purpose again.
Build the Aztecs Differently
American football is entering a huge moment.
The 2026 World Cup has brought the game unprecedented attention.
Investment is pouring in.
Stadiums are being built.
Franchise values are rising.
But too much of the sport is starting to look the same.
Another expansion fee.
Another protected territory.
Another franchise.
Another club where supporters are customers rather than participants.
I want the Aztecs to go the other way.
A club where supporters can have a genuine stake in its future.
A club that encourages creative players instead of coaching individuality out of them.
A club connected to the people around it.
A club ambitious enough to build something significant without forgetting what a football club is supposed to be.
The business matters.
Of course it does.
But the business should serve the club.
The club should never exist merely to serve the business.
Take the Aztecs on the Road
RTVE also picked up on another part of the plan.
The touring model.
The inspiration is partly the Harlem Globetrotters.
Not because we want to turn football into theatre.
Because the Globetrotters understood something powerful decades ago.
A team does not have to be limited by its league schedule.
It can travel.
It can entertain.
It can build supporters far beyond its home city.
It can become part of culture.
That idea fits the Aztecs perfectly.
Imagine exhibition matches across America.
Los Angeles.
Las Vegas.
San Diego.
Phoenix.
New York.
Mexico.
Europe.
Take the name out into the world.
Play attacking football.
Create events people actually want to attend.
Then bring that audience back to Los Angeles.
That is also why we have had early conversations around something with enormous symbolic value.
The possibility of the Aztecs returning to the Rose Bowl.
Nothing is being announced before it exists.
There is plenty of work to do.
But football needs ambition before it needs another spreadsheet explaining why ambition is inconvenient.
Why RTVE Matters
We can talk about the Aztecs every day.
We should.
It is our project.
But independent coverage is different.
When a broadcaster like RTVE decides there is a story here, the Aztecs begin to travel again.
Not physically yet.
Culturally.
People discover the name.
They see Cruyff.
They see Best.
They see Michels.
Then they realise this is not only a story about what happened fifty years ago.
It is a story about what could happen next.
That is the shift.
From:
Bring back the Aztecs.
To:
Build the Aztecs differently.
That is where this gets interesting.
From Lost Club to Living Club
We are still early.
There are conversations to have.
Capital to raise.
Partners to find.
Venues to explore.
Supporters to convince.
And, eventually, football matches to play.
There will be setbacks.
Anyone pretending otherwise has probably never tried to build anything difficult.
But momentum does not arrive all at once.
It is built.
One supporter.
One investor.
One serious conversation.
One piece of independent coverage.
One person saying to another:
“Have you seen what they’re doing with the LA Aztecs?”
That is how a dormant football club starts breathing again.
The old Aztecs gave us Cruyff.
Best.
Michels.
Our job is not to keep polishing their memories.
Our job is to make sure the next generation has its own.
RTVE has helped tell people where the Los Angeles Aztecs have been.
Now we have to show them where we are going.
Thank you to everyone who has already joined us.
Read the RTVE feature:
https://www.rtve.es/deportes/20260618/angeles-aztecs-como-buscar-esencia-del-futbol-pais-del-soccer/17118850.shtml
Invest in the LA Aztecs:
https://wefunder.com/laaztecs1973
Football has enough franchises.
Let’s build a club.
Yes!!! Yes, yes, yes, this is exciting, small steps, tiny shoots…that grow. 😊💪👊🫶