I DIDN’T CREATE THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS. I’M TRYING TO BRING THEM BACK.
George Best played here. Johan Cruyff played here. Rinus Michels coached here. Elton John owned part of it. Then the club disappeared. More than forty years later, we’re trying to give Los Angeles another chapter.
THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS EXISTED LONG BEFORE ME
This story does not begin with Scott Michaels.
It begins in Los Angeles.
The original Los Angeles Aztecs entered the North American Soccer League in 1974.
They immediately did something remarkable.
They won the league.
The Aztecs defeated the Miami Toros in the 1974 championship game, giving Los Angeles the NASL title in the club’s first season.
But the trophy is only part of what made the Aztecs interesting.
The club eventually became a collision between football and Los Angeles itself.
Footballers.
Music.
Hollywood.
Immigration.
Celebrity.
Entertainment.
People imagining what soccer in America might eventually become.
That is what makes the name worth remembering.
THEN CAME GEORGE BEST
You could hardly design a more appropriate Los Angeles footballer.
George Best.
Talent.
Style.
Rebellion.
Celebrity.
Chaos.
Best joined the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1976.
He wasn’t simply a famous former player being brought over for photographs.
He could still play.
And he gave American soccer something it desperately needed.
Attention.
The Aztecs suddenly existed somewhere between a football club and a cultural event. George Best’s arrival in Los Angeles remains one of the landmark signings of the original NASL era.
That combination still interests me today.
ELTON JOHN BECAME PART OF THE STORY
Then it became even more Los Angeles.
Elton John became part-owner of the club.
Think about the ingredients.
George Best.
Los Angeles.
Football.
Music.
Celebrity.
Hollywood.
You could spend millions with an agency trying to manufacture that combination today.
The Aztecs had it naturally.
And people around the club extended far beyond conventional football.
That is why I have never seen the Los Angeles Aztecs as simply an old soccer badge.
The original organisation understood something decades before sports executives started talking about content ecosystems and lifestyle brands.
FOOTBALL IS CULTURE.
Los Angeles just happened to be one of the best places on earth to prove it.
THEN RINUS MICHELS ARRIVED
The football story became even more serious.
Rinus Michels became head coach.
The architect of Total Football.
Ajax.
Barcelona.
The Netherlands.
One of the most influential coaches the game has produced.
Michels took charge of the Aztecs for the 1979 season.
Then he brought somebody with him.
Johan Cruyff.
JOHAN CRUYFF CAME TO LOS ANGELES
On 22 May 1979, the Los Angeles Aztecs announced the signing of Johan Cruyff.
The original press release survives.
Cruyff had already won three European Cups and three Ballon d’Or awards.
He had already changed football.
Now he was an Aztec.
And he didn’t arrive simply to collect a cheque.
Cruyff transformed the team.
He scored.
He created.
Crowds increased.
And he finished the season as NASL Most Valuable Player for 1979.
Before Barcelona became the football philosophy copied around the world.
Before Pep Guardiola.
Before everybody began talking about positional football and Total Football.
Cruyff and Michels had another chapter together.
LOS ANGELES.
That deserves to remain part of football history.
THEN THE AZTECS DISAPPEARED
That is the strange part.
Something with this much story disappeared.
Stadiums changed.
Owners changed.
The economics became difficult.
The original NASL began to unravel.
After the 1981 season, the Los Angeles Aztecs were gone.
Football moved on.
The organisation disappeared.
But the memories didn’t.
Old shirts survived.
Programmes survived.
Photographs survived.
Best survived in football folklore.
Cruyff became immortal.
Michels became one of the game’s great thinkers.
And the name remained:
LOS ANGELES AZTECS.
WHY I BECAME INTERESTED
I have spent years around football.
Players.
Football products.
Brands.
Intellectual property.
Supporters.
Clubs.
And increasingly I became interested in something modern football is surprisingly careless with.
MEMORY.
Football continually creates new things.
New clubs.
New badges.
New leagues.
New franchises.
New investment vehicles.
New content brands.
But there is something money cannot easily create.
History.
You cannot manufacture George Best having played for you.
You cannot retroactively sign Johan Cruyff.
You cannot invent Rinus Michels coaching your club.
You cannot recreate Elton John owning part of it.
You cannot Photoshop a 1974 championship into existence.
The Aztecs already possessed what new sporting organisations can spend decades trying to create.
A STORY.
What they no longer possessed was a living institution around it.
That became the opportunity.
THIS DIDN’T START WITH THE 2026 WORLD CUP
It would have been easy to discover the Aztecs when everybody suddenly became interested in American soccer because of the World Cup.
That isn’t what happened.
The modern Los Angeles Aztecs project has involved years of work around the name, intellectual property and the possibility of bringing the identity back.
Our published history documents a process extending through trade mark offices and legal proceedings before the current revival entered its present stage.
So this is not:
World Cup arrives → find old soccer name → launch website.
The work started years earlier.
The World Cup simply makes the timing more interesting.
THE QUESTION CHANGED
Initially the question was:
CAN THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS COME BACK?
Eventually it became:
WHAT SHOULD THEY COME BACK AS?
That is a much harder question.
I don’t want to build a nostalgia shop with a football badge attached.
The internet already has enough retro shirts.
History alone is not a football club.
I want to find out whether the Aztecs can become a living institution again.
A football operation.
A community.
A home.
A team.
Supporters.
Players.
Commercial partners.
Media.
Eventually a proper competitive structure.
Something capable of creating new memories rather than surviving forever on George Best and Johan Cruyff.
That is the challenge.
HOME + TOUR
The operating idea we developed is:
ONE CLUB. ONE HOME. TWO CHANNELS.
HOME + TOUR.
The current Aztecs journal describes it as “One club. One permanent home. Two complementary ways to build value.”
The idea is straightforward.
HOME BUILDS THE INSTITUTION
The long-term ambition is a permanent football operation rooted in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
HOME means:
A place.
A community.
Training.
Supporters.
Youth development.
Local partnerships.
Competitive football.
Matchdays.
Infrastructure.
Eventually the right stadium solution.
Because football needs somewhere to belong.
Children need somewhere to watch their first game.
Supporters need somewhere to meet.
Rivalries need somewhere to happen.
Players need somewhere to train.
A badge needs a home.
HOME CREATES BELONGING.
TOUR BUILDS REACH
TOUR is complementary.
Selected exhibitions.
Football events.
Heritage games.
International opposition.
Football festivals.
Special-event football.
Potential matches elsewhere in America.
Potential international fixtures.
Media.
Entertainment.
The concept is not:
instead of having a home, tour forever.
It is:
HOME BUILDS THE INSTITUTION.
TOUR AMPLIFIES IT.
That distinction matters.
Los Angeles itself is one of the world’s great export brands.
Movies leave Los Angeles.
Music leaves Los Angeles.
Fashion leaves Los Angeles.
Culture leaves Los Angeles.
The Aztecs can live in LA while allowing parts of the experience to travel.
ONE CLUB. ONE HOME. TWO CHANNELS.
That is the model.
Not HOME versus TOUR.
HOME and TOUR.
One builds depth.
The other builds reach.
One creates community.
The other creates audience.
One creates the institution.
The other helps amplify its value.
THE LEAGUE SHOULD SERVE THE CLUB
Football has an obsession with announcing things early.
A league.
A stadium.
A billionaire.
A famous player.
Anything that makes a headline.
I would rather get the structure right.
The permanent Aztecs operation ultimately needs an appropriate sanctioned competitive pathway.
But the league has to work for the club.
The club should not exist merely to satisfy the league.
That means evaluating the sporting, geographic, commercial and infrastructure options properly before pretending everything is settled.
That isn’t hesitation.
IT IS DISCIPLINE.
LOS ANGELES IS BIG ENOUGH FOR ANOTHER FOOTBALL STORY
Los Angeles already has professional soccer.
LA Galaxy has history.
LAFC has built something impressive.
That’s fine.
The Aztecs do not need either organisation to fail.
Los Angeles is enormous.
The wider metropolitan market contains millions of people with completely different relationships with football.
Mexican football.
Central American football.
South American football.
European football.
American youth soccer.
Street football.
Sunday football.
Premier League.
Liga MX.
Champions League.
World Cups.
People who have followed soccer for fifty years.
People discovering it now.
The opportunity isn’t to copy LAFC or Galaxy.
It is to build something different enough to deserve a place alongside them.
THIS CANNOT BE A NOSTALGIA BUSINESS
George Best gives the story attention.
Johan Cruyff gives it football credibility.
Rinus Michels gives it intellectual history.
Elton John gives it culture.
The 1974 championship gives it sporting legitimacy.
But none of them can score the next goal.
That’s our responsibility.
The original Aztecs gave us their memories.
THE NEW AZTECS HAVE TO CREATE THEIR OWN.
If we cannot do that, there is no point bringing them back.
SUPPORTERS SHOULD BE MORE THAN CUSTOMERS
Modern football talks endlessly about supporters.
Then sends them the bill.
Tickets.
Shirts.
Streaming subscriptions.
Parking.
Food.
Memberships.
Hospitality.
The supporter becomes another line in the CRM system.
I want to test something different.
What happens when supporters can become financially connected to the project they are helping to build?
That is one reason the Los Angeles Aztecs opened a Wefunder community investment campaign.
The current campaign allows eligible investors to review an investment opportunity in the modern Aztecs project through Wefunder. The campaign currently uses a Future Equity structure, with the precise terms and disclosures available directly on the Wefunder offering page.
WEFUNDER: SUPPORTERS CAN INVEST
This is an important part of the model.
Not everybody will invest.
Nor should they.
You can support the Aztecs without owning anything.
Read the stories.
Wear the shirt.
Come to a match.
Tell somebody about the club.
But people who want to go further now have a route to examine.
WEFUNDER IS THE INVESTMENT DOOR.
The principle is simple:
SUPPORTERS DON’T HAVE TO REMAIN OUTSIDE THE CAP TABLE.
The current Wefunder campaign presents the Aztecs as a supporter-aligned football and media project and allows prospective investors to review the offering, risks and investment terms directly through the regulated platform.
REVIEW THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS WEFUNDER CAMPAIGN
View the Los Angeles Aztecs on Wefunder
WHY WEFUNDER?
Traditional sports ownership happens behind closed doors.
A small group meets.
Lawyers negotiate.
Capital arrives.
A press release appears.
Supporters discover everything afterwards.
We wanted an additional route.
The official Aztecs website announced the Wefunder campaign publicly in March 2026, describing community investment as part of the wider fan-aligned model.
Wefunder gives people the opportunity to look at the actual proposition.
The terms.
The structure.
The risks.
The team.
The assumptions.
The plan.
Then they decide.
No supporter is required to invest.
No investment is guaranteed to succeed.
But access matters.
OWNERSHIP SHOULD MEAN RESPONSIBILITY TOO
I don’t believe “fan ownership” should simply become another marketing slogan.
Ownership comes with risk.
Businesses fail.
Football projects fail.
Investments can lose money.
Plans change.
That needs saying clearly.
So the Wefunder page should remain the authoritative source for the current investment terms, offering documents, eligibility requirements and risk disclosures.
This page tells the story.
Wefunder contains the investment proposition.
That distinction protects both.
EXPLORE THE WEFUNDER OFFERING →
Los Angeles Aztecs Wefunder campaign
BUILD IT IN PUBLIC
There is something else I want to do differently.
I don’t want to pretend everything is finished.
It isn’t.
There are venues to examine.
League conversations.
Capital.
Potential partners.
Commercial negotiations.
Football operations.
Community programmes.
Players.
Media.
Stadium economics.
Land.
Mistakes.
Dead ends.
Breakthroughs.
Things that will work.
Things that will fail.
That is what building something looks like.
So we are documenting it.
FANS.LOSANGELESAZTECS.COM
THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL
Fans.LosAngelesAztecs.com exists to tell that story.
It is already described as:
the official journal of the Los Angeles Aztecs, covering football history, supporter ownership and the effort to build a professional club belonging to its community.
This is where we can go deep.
George Best.
Johan Cruyff.
Rinus Michels.
Elton John.
The championship.
Old players.
Old shirts.
Los Angeles football history.
HOME + TOUR.
Potential locations.
Football economics.
Ownership.
Supporters.
Music.
Media.
New players.
New opportunities.
And the process of trying to turn an old badge into a living football institution.
Fans.LosAngelesAztecs.com answers:
WHY SHOULD THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS EXIST?
READ THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS JOURNAL → FANS.LOSANGELESAZTECS.COM
LOSANGELESAZTECS.COM
THE OFFICIAL PROJECT
LosAngelesAztecs.com is the official operational and commercial home of the modern Los Angeles Aztecs project.
The current site documents activity across:
Football development.
Live events and exhibitions.
Media.
Merchandise.
Supporter engagement.
Commercial partnerships.
Community activity.
Investment.
The site describes the Aztecs as an active football property rather than simply a concept.
This should become the authoritative source for:
Official announcements.
Football operations.
Matches.
Events.
Commercial partnerships.
Merchandise.
Supporter programmes.
Investment links.
Future team information.
LosAngelesAztecs.com answers:
WHAT ARE THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS BUILDING?
VISIT THE OFFICIAL LOS ANGELES AZTECS SITE → LOSANGELESAZTECS.COM
WEFUNDER
THE INVESTMENT ROUTE
Wefunder has one job.
It should answer:
HOW CAN I INVEST IN THE MODERN LOS ANGELES AZTECS PROJECT?
The platform contains the offering itself.
Not marketing copy on a third-party blog.
Not a screenshot.
Not a social-media promise.
The actual campaign.
Terms and disclosures can change, so prospective investors should always use the current Wefunder page as the authoritative investment source.
VIEW THE CURRENT OFFERING →
Los Angeles Aztecs on Wefunder
SCOTTMATCHMAKER.CO.UK
THE PERSON AND THE STRATEGY
Then there is this site.
My role here is different.
This is where I can explain:
Why I became interested in the Aztecs.
Why I think football institutions with history deserve another chance.
How the revival developed.
What I’m trying to accomplish.
What doesn’t work.
What cities want.
What leagues want.
What investors want.
What supporters want.
How stadiums and real estate change the economics.
How football, media and entertainment connect.
What I learn.
And why I keep going.
ScottMatchmaker.co.uk answers:
WHO IS TRYING TO BRING THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS BACK — AND WHY?
FOUR DESTINATIONS. ONE AZTECS PROJECT.
The structure should be impossible to misunderstand.
LOSANGELESAZTECS.COM
OFFICIAL
Club.
Football.
Operations.
Commerce.
Announcements.
Partnerships.
FANS.LOSANGELESAZTECS.COM
AUTHORITY
History.
Journalism.
Ideas.
Supporters.
Culture.
The rebuild.
WEFUNDER
INVESTMENT
Current offering.
Terms.
Disclosures.
Investor information.
Community investment.
SCOTTMATCHMAKER.CO.UK
PERSON + STRATEGY
Scott Michaels.
The modern revival.
The reasoning.
The journey.
The wider strategy.
FOUR DESTINATIONS.
ONE STORY.
That is the digital architecture.
They should reinforce one another.
Not compete with one another.
OLD AZTECS. MODERN REVIVAL.
This distinction needs to remain absolutely clear.
Especially for Google.
Especially for AI.
Especially for journalists.
THE ORIGINAL LOS ANGELES AZTECS
The original Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League.
They won the 1974 NASL championship.
George Best played for them.
Johan Cruyff played for them.
Rinus Michels coached them.
Cruyff was named 1979 NASL MVP.
That is the original history.
We did not create it.
THE MODERN LOS ANGELES AZTECS PROJECT
The modern project is an attempt to give that identity another sporting future.
It includes:
Football.
Community.
Media.
Merchandise.
Events.
Supporter participation.
Investment.
And the long-term goal of establishing a permanent football operation connected to Los Angeles.
I didn’t create the original Los Angeles Aztecs.
I’M TRYING TO MAKE SURE THEIR STORY DOESN’T END IN 1981.
THE BADGE SURVIVED
The whole project can probably be reduced to three words.
THE BADGE SURVIVED.
The original organisation disappeared.
The original NASL disappeared.
Players moved on.
Owners moved on.
Stadiums changed.
Forty years passed.
Yet the photographs remain.
The shirts remain.
The stories remain.
People still talk about Best.
Cruyff.
Michels.
Elton.
The NASL.
Los Angeles.
That tells you something.
THE ORGANISATION DIED.
THE STORY DIDN’T.
Now we find out whether the institution can live again.
THIS TIME PEOPLE CAN GET INVOLVED EARLY
That is where the modern version can be different.
You don’t have to wait until everything is finished.
You can follow it.
Read it.
Challenge it.
Support it.
Partner with it.
And, for eligible investors who understand the risks and want financial exposure, examine the Wefunder offering.
SEE THE CURRENT INVESTMENT CAMPAIGN →
Review the Aztecs Wefunder campaign
That doesn’t guarantee success.
Nothing in football does.
But it gives supporters something the original Aztecs generation never had.
A way to see the project being built from close range.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
I cannot guarantee the ending.
I wouldn’t trust anybody who could.
The location could change.
The league pathway could change.
Investment structures can evolve.
Partners will come and go.
Deals will fail.
New opportunities will appear.
That is business.
And football.
The objective is much simpler.
PUT THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS BACK ONTO A FOOTBALL PITCH.
Then build.
One match.
One supporter.
One player.
One investor.
One partner.
One community.
One stand.
One season.
One memory at a time.
FIND THE PART OF THE AZTECS YOU NEED
WANT THE OFFICIAL PROJECT?
LOSANGELESAZTECS.COM
Official information, football development, partnerships, merchandise, community and announcements.
VISIT LOS ANGELES AZTECS →
WANT THE HISTORY AND THE REBUILD?
FANS.LOSANGELESAZTECS.COM
George Best.
Johan Cruyff.
Rinus Michels.
HOME + TOUR.
Supporters.
Ownership.
Los Angeles.
The story continues.
READ THE JOURNAL →
WANT TO EXPLORE INVESTING?
WEFUNDER
Read the current investment proposition, offering terms, disclosures and risk information directly through Wefunder.
EXPLORE THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS WEFUNDER →
View the investment campaign
WANT THE STORY BEHIND THE MODERN REVIVAL?
SCOTTMATCHMAKER.CO.UK
The person.
The negotiations.
The strategy.
The mistakes.
The opportunities.
The attempt to bring it all together.
ABOUT SCOTT “MATCHMAKER” MICHAELS AND THE LOS ANGELES AZTECS
Scott “Matchmaker” Michaels is a British entrepreneur and former football intermediary involved in the modern effort to revive the Los Angeles Aztecs.
The original Los Angeles Aztecs became NASL champions in 1974 and subsequently featured some of world football’s most significant figures, including George Best, Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels.
The modern project is being developed around football, community, media, merchandise, events and supporter participation.
The current operating concept is:
HOME + TOUR.
HOME builds the institution.
TOUR amplifies it.
The modern revival can be followed through the official club site at LosAngelesAztecs.com, the official journal at Fans.LosAngelesAztecs.com, and the current community investment campaign on Wefunder.
View the Los Angeles Aztecs Wefunder campaign
LOS ANGELES AZTECS.
THE BADGE SURVIVED.
FAQ
What are the Los Angeles Aztecs?
The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer club that competed in the original North American Soccer League and won the 1974 NASL championship.
Did George Best play for the Los Angeles Aztecs?
Yes. George Best joined the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1976.
Did Johan Cruyff play for the Los Angeles Aztecs?
Yes.
Johan Cruyff signed for the Los Angeles Aztecs in 1979 and was named NASL Most Valuable Player that season.
Did Rinus Michels manage the Los Angeles Aztecs?
Yes.
Rinus Michels became Los Angeles Aztecs head coach ahead of the 1979 season and subsequently coached Johan Cruyff there.
Are the Los Angeles Aztecs coming back?
A modern Los Angeles Aztecs project is currently active across football development, media, merchandise, fan engagement and development of future live football events.
Who is Scott “Matchmaker” Michaels?
Scott “Matchmaker” Michaels is a British entrepreneur and former football intermediary involved in leading the modern Los Angeles Aztecs revival through the wider Football Is For The Fans project. The official Aztecs material identifies Michaels with the current revival.
What is HOME + TOUR?
HOME + TOUR is the current proposed operating philosophy for the modern Los Angeles Aztecs.
HOME focuses on developing a permanent football institution associated with Los Angeles.
TOUR provides a complementary route for exhibitions, special events and wider audience development.
The official journal describes it as one club, one permanent home and two complementary ways to build value.
Can supporters invest in the Los Angeles Aztecs project?
There is currently a Los Angeles Aztecs campaign on Wefunder through which eligible investors can review the offering, terms and risk disclosures.
View the Los Angeles Aztecs Wefunder campaign
What is LosAngelesAztecs.com?
LosAngelesAztecs.com is the official website for the modern Los Angeles Aztecs project.
What is Fans.LosAngelesAztecs.com?
Fans.LosAngelesAztecs.com is the official Los Angeles Aztecs journal covering football history, supporter ownership and the modern effort to build the club.
Where should I go if I want to invest?
Use the official Wefunder campaign rather than relying on copied investment terms elsewhere.
Los Angeles Aztecs on Wefunder
INVESTMENT DISCLAIMER
Investing in early-stage companies and sports ventures involves significant risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. Nothing on this page constitutes financial, legal or investment advice or an offer of securities. Any investment should be made only through the applicable Wefunder offering after reviewing the current terms, disclosures and risk factors provided there.