FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fans Launch Campaign to Revive Johan Cruyff and George Best’s Former Los Angeles Club Ahead of 2026 World Cup
Football Is For The Fans opens supporter registry for Los Angeles Aztecs revival after four-year trademark fight
LOS ANGELES / LONDON — Football Is For The Fans has opened a supporter registry for fans, partners, former players, media and investors interested in the revival of the Los Angeles Aztecs, the historic American soccer club once linked with Johan Cruyff and George Best.
The campaign launches ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as global attention turns toward football’s future in North America.
The Los Angeles Aztecs, one of the most recognisable names from American soccer’s golden era, are being revived through Football Is For The Fans, a supporter-focused football media and ownership platform founded by former football agent and entrepreneur Scott “Matchmaker” Michaels.
The move follows a four-year legal and administrative battle to secure and protect historic American soccer intellectual property, including legal escalation in the Southern District of New York after prolonged delays at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
“The World Cup is coming to America, but American soccer did not begin in 2026,” said Michaels. “The Aztecs were part of the sport’s original American dream. Johan Cruyff gave it genius. George Best gave it rock-and-roll. Now supporters have the chance to give it life again.”
The supporter registry will be used to build the first public community around the revival, including fans who want to follow the project, register interest, support future events, explore investment opportunities, or take part in the wider Football Is For The Fans movement.
Michaels says the project is not about nostalgia, but about challenging the direction of modern football.
“Football has become too expensive, too closed, and too disconnected from ordinary supporters,” he said. “This is about taking a historic club identity and rebuilding it around the people football should serve.”
The Los Angeles Aztecs once represented a bold, ambitious era of American soccer, when the game attracted global icons and dared to compete for public imagination in one of the world’s most powerful entertainment markets.
With the 2026 World Cup set to bring unprecedented attention to football across North America, Football Is For The Fans believes the Aztecs can become part of a bigger conversation about who the game is really for.
“Everyone is talking about what the World Cup will do for America,” Michaels said. “The bigger question is what kind of football America wants afterwards. More closed systems and sterile brands, or clubs with history, soul, and supporters at the centre?”
Supporters, former players, media, commercial partners and investors can register interest at:
Scott@footballisforthefans.com
MEDIA CONTACT
ENDS
