San Diego FC Hosts Grand Opening of Right to Dream Academy
MLS San Diego FC

San Diego FC Hosts Grand Opening of Right to Dream Academy

Published on September 26, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Diego FC News Release


San Diego FC is building the next generation of players on and off the pitch. The Club officially welcomed individuals from all over to celebrate the Grand Opening of SDFC's Right to Dream Academy located on Sycuan tribal land in El Cajon.

Parents, friends, staff, and media arrived at the Sharp Healthcare Performance Center Friday morning to tour the facility. With students in separate rooms, individuals were able to hear first-hand what they've been doing in class and how their experiences have been this far. After touring the facility, everyone was directed outside to where the event was held.

IHeart Radio's Veteran broadcaster and Emmy Award-winning play-by-play announcer Adrian Garcia Marquez kicked off the ceremony by introducing the first team and the Academy student-athletes as they walked down the aisle to take their seats. SDFC CEO Tom Penn was then introduced and hosted the Grand Opening ceremony. Penn gave welcoming remarks before introducing the speakers throughout the ceremony.

The speakers consisted of SDFC Chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour, Vice Chairman Cody Martinez, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, SDFC Head Coach Mikey Varas, Right to Dream Alumni and SDFC midfielder Emmanuel Boateng, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon.

Everyone thanked the organization and wished the Academy the best in the journey they're about to embark on. As a Right to Dream Alumni, Boateng had advice for the boys in the Academy:

"Willy, Marcus and I got together to share some advice that will help you along the way. We'd like to encourage you guys to keep looking for opportunities to learn and grow, whether it's on the field or in the classroom, get out of your comfort zone and continue to push yourselves," said Boateng. "You should be proud that you're here but never satisfied, the real work starts now. Your dreams of becoming a professional player and going on to represent your countries should be your driving force every day, everything you need to help you realize that dream, it's right here."

The ceremony came to an end with a historic photo of both SDFC's first team and the Academy. Attendees were able to take photos following the event and gathered to celebrate the special moment.

"On behalf of all the Right to Dream, this is an incredibly proud moment. It's a culmination of a lot of work, foundational work that's been done since the beginning of Right to Dream, 25 years ago, and we've come so far and expanded into different geographies and now to have this wonderful facility, an amazing first team, and a talented first group of kids. It's a very proud moment," said Right to Dream CEO Dan Dickinson. "It's so exciting to think about the future. This is the beginning of something really special for Right to Dream in America and in Mexico, and I think it's a blueprint for perhaps what we can do elsewhere. And I'm excited, proud, and thankful for all the people that put all their effort and dedication and commitment into making this happen."

Taking a moment to talk about the ceremony's importance, SDFC Sporting Director and General Manager Tyler Heaps shared his thoughts on the event.

"A lot of us are here because of Right to Dream and San Diego now has a basis, and the basis is Right to Dream, it's the Academy, it's what we're building, it's our long term vision, and what I believe will be the future of this football club. It's fantastic that the first team has been able to get off on such a good start, but our strategy will greatly change. Whenever we have all of these young student athletes coming through and ideally playing in their hometown and playing for San Diego," said Heaps. "From my role, it's an amazing time. You're building the foundations, you're building something that's going to create, sustained success for many years. I've been fortunate enough to travel to Ghana and travel to Egypt and travel to Scandinavia and see it happening in real life and it excites me because soccer in this country, I think needs something like this. Hopefully we can be a piece of that to continue to push soccer in this region, but also this country forward."

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