Los Angeles FC

The founding

Los Angeles FC was founded on October 30, 2014, as a result of Major League Soccer (MLS) awarding a new expansion team to Los Angeles after the complete dissolution of Chivas USA. On September 15, 2015, the club announced that Los Angeles Football Club, which had previously been used as a placeholder name for the club, would be the official team name. Henry Nguyen, Los Angeles FC's principal owner at the time, hinted at this possibility shortly after the club was announced in describing the name as "timeless".

LAFC announced Bob Bradley as its head coach in July 2017, joining general director John Thorrington in a search for players. Mexican forward Carlos Vela was signed as the club's first designated player on August 11, 2017.

Inaugural 2018 season

On March 4, 2018, LAFC played its first MLS game, a 1–0 win against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. LAFC designated player Diego Rossi scored the club's first competitive goal in the 11th minute, assisted by Vela. LAFC suffered its first MLS loss on March 31 against the LA Galaxy, losing 4–3 to their crosstown rivals in the inaugural edition of "El Tráfico". Despite the loss, LAFC won 4 of the 6 games on their road trip to start the season, becoming the first team to earn 12 points from a season opening road trip of 6 games or more. They finished the season with 7 road wins which is the most for an expansion team in the post-shootout era.

LAFC accomplished the best regular season for an MLS expansion team, earning 57 points. The total surpassed the 56 picked up by the 1998 Chicago Fire, also coached by Bob Bradley, as well as the post-shootout era record of 55 set in 2017 by Atlanta United FC. LAFC's seven road wins also tied for the most ever by an expansion team in the pre or post shootout-era with the '98 Fire who had two road wins come via the shootout. They finished second all-time in goals scored by an expansion team in a season, with 68, just behind Atlanta's 70.

On October 6, 2018, LAFC clinched its first playoff spot after a 3–0 victory against the Colorado Rapids finishing third in the West, but were knocked out at home in the first round in a 3–2 loss to sixth-place Real Salt Lake.

2019 season

LAFC won the 2019 Supporters' Shield with a record-setting 72 points; Carlos Vela won the MLS Golden Boot with a league-record 34 goals and was also named the league MVP. In the playoffs, LAFC defeated their El Trafico rivals LA Galaxy for the first time 5–3 in the Western Conference Semifinal. In the Western Conference Final, LAFC were eliminated in an upset loss at home by Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders 3–1.

2020 season

The 2020 MLS season was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed with the MLS is Back Tournament, a special tournament with all teams at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. In the group stage, LAFC earned five points and qualified for the knockout rounds. The team defeated Seattle Sounders FC but lost to Orlando City SC in a penalty shoutout. The regular season resumed after the tournament with matches played behind closed doors. LAFC saw 47 goals with 14 coming from Golden Boot winner Diego Rossi. The team finished with a 9–8–5 and were eliminated in the playoffs by Seattle Sounders FC.

2020 CONCACAF Champions League

Los Angeles FC qualified for CONCACAF Champions League for the first time in 2020. After going down 2–0 in the first leg against Club León, LAFC came back and won 3–0 in the second leg, advancing (3–2 on aggregate) to the round of 16. Shortly after that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was put on hold. When the tournament resumed in December, under a new one-off format, Los Angeles FC defeated Cruz Azul (2–1) after going down 1–0. In the semi-finals LAFC defeated Club América (3–1), again in comeback fashion. They became the third MLS side to advance to the Final, where they were defeated by Tigres UANL (2–1), who had been runners-up in previous editions of the tournament, and who went on to become the runners-up in the Club World Cup.

2021 season

LAFC rebuilt their roster for much of the 2021 MLS season and missed the MLS Cup playoffs. Diego Rossi was transferred to Fenerbahçe S.K. in September 2021. Carlos Vela was injured for most of the year and only appeared in 27 matches during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. After missing the playoffs, Bob Bradley was fired as head coach on November 18, 2021. He was replaced by Steve Cherundolo, the head coach of the team's USL affiliate Las Vegas Lights FC, on January 3, 2022.

MLS Cup championship (2022)

LAFC spent the majority of the 2022 MLS season pushing for the league's all-time points record (73, set the previous year), but had five losses in their final nine matches. The team finished with 67 points and won their second Supporters' Shield, but fell short of the record. This total was equal with the Philadelphia Union, who lost the Shield on a wins tiebreaker. LAFC defeated the Galaxy 3–2 in the conference semifinals before knocking out Austin FC 3–0 to advance to their first MLS Cup.

Los Angeles FC won the 2022 MLS Cup by defeating the Union in a penalty shootout following a 3–3 draw through extra time. The two latest goals in MLS Cup Playoffs history were scored in the match, with Gareth Bale scoring an equalizer in the 128th minute to take the match to penalties, which LAFC won 3–0. LAFC substitute goalkeeper John McCarthy made two saves in the shootout and was named the most valuable player of the match.