Teams, tales and tips – a football fan's guide to Los Angeles
Stage for America’s only previous World Cup final in 1994, soon to be host of a record third Olympic Games, Los Angeles is also only one of two cities with two teams in MLS. The crosstown derby between LA Galaxy and LAFC, known as El Tráfico due to the congestion along the 13 miles of Interstate 110 between the two, has invariably been a high-scoring affair since the Black and Gold came on the scene in 2018.
That March, the 4-3 defeat to MLS founding members Galaxy set the tone for the clashes to follow, two played on July 4 at the Rose Bowl, one before a crowd of 82,110. One of two venerable arenas still in use more than a century after their opening, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena holds just under 90,000, although for decades it was the largest football stadium by capacity in the U.S., the attendance record of 106,869 set for the namesake Rose Bowl game in 1973.
That goalless draw between Brazil and Italy brought 94,194 to this National Historic Landmark, although all of the eight games the Rose Bowl staged in 1994 recorded crowds of 90,000-plus. A decade before, a six-figure attendance watched the Olympic Football Final between France and Brazil. Six miles directly west from here, installed around the same time as the stadium, the iconic letters spelling out HOLLYWOOD look down upon LA, including another landmark built in the aftermath of World War I, the LA Memorial Coliseum.
Dedicated to veterans who served in the Great War, this centerpiece of Exposition Park ushered in two innovative concepts when it hosted the Games in 1932: the Olympic Village and the three-tier medal podium. This summer, between June 11-14, the LA Coliseum will be home to the World Cup Fan Festival. Alongside stands BMO (formerly Banc of California) Stadium, home of LAFC.
But neither the Rose Bowl nor LA Coliseum is being used for the 2026 World Cup. That honor goes to SoFI Stadium down in Inglewood, opened in 2020, and shared between NFL stalwarts, Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. Host of Super Bowl LVI in 2022, which famously celebrated West Coast rap in the halftime show, SoFi Stadium has already witnessed a number of top international soccer games, with USMNT due to open its World Cup campaign here on June 12.
Close to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), it sits a few miles north of Carson, where Dignity Health Sports Park, home of LA Galaxy, now features a statue of the man whose star quality transformed MLS and later established soccer in Miami: David Beckham.
Getting here
Arriving in town and city transport
Los Angeles Airport (LAX) is five miles (8km) west of SoFi Stadium, connected via LAX Metro Transit Center by a bus service on game days. A pink sign at the Lower/Arrivals level outside each of nine airport terminal buildings indicates the stop for the free Metro Connector shuttle bus (every 10mins) to the Transit Center, arriving at/leaving from Bays 1 and 2.
For a taxi, Uber or Lyft, head to Terminal 1 for LAX-it (‘LA Exit’), signposted green, either by walking or taking the free LAX-it shuttle from your arrival terminal.
The stadium bus service ($1.75, every 10mins) usually leaves from Bay 8 at the LAX Metro Transit Center, journey time 15mins, dropping off/picking up from Lot S – E Arbor Vitae/District Dr, a 5-10min walk to the stadium. The Transit Center also links to Metro Lines C and K, allowing you to ride into the city or Downtown Inglewood Station (Line K, 6min journey time), itself a 30-min walk from the stadium. Line K terminates at Expo/Crenshaw, crossing with Line C to Downtown LA and Santa Monica.
Machines at stops and stations sell TAP top-up cards ($2), download the TAP app or use your Apple Wallet. A regular oneway ride is $1.75 – from Downtown to the stadium, add a $3.50 roundtrip fare.
Where to Drink
The best pubs and bars for football fans
Los Angeles is full of great soccer-friendly bars. The most legendary, particularly after it moved from Laurel Canyon to Sunset Boulevard in 1985, the Cat & Fiddle has been revived by the family of co-founder and former Rod Stewart bandmate Kim Gardner who welcomed so many of the city’s expat punkerati way back when. Its current iteration in West Hollywood is still a top place to catch the game, where Sunday roasts, vinyl Fridays and pub quizzes also feature, along with house cider, hazy IPA and, of course, PG Tips tea.
Up in Studio City, another age-old expat- and football-friendly haunt is still pulling pints, pouring custard over spotted dick and screening Premier League action – the Fox and Hounds has long been a fixture on Ventura Blvd.
On S Figueroa St in South Park, in a buzzy part of Downtown LA where LA Lakers plays, 33 Taps surrounds customers with screens while serving top-notch wings, house vegan burgers and beer from, you guessed it, 33 taps. Happy hour on pints, food and pitchers runs weekdays 3pm-7pm, then daily from 9.30pm, and animal charities are supported. Other branches on Santa Monica Blvd, at Silver Lake and down in Culver City offer similar attractions, with all World Cup matches shown, no cover charge.
Practically next door to the one on S Figueroa St the Downtown LA branch of Tom’s Watch Bar (‘All the Sports, All the Time’) comprises 100 screens, a superior kitchen and extremely busy bar, margaritas the specialty. Full focus is being given to World Cup watch parties this summer. There’s another branch near SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Near 33 Taps at Silver Lake, cult bar Drugstore Cowboy on Sunset Boulevard beams the action on big screens while serving movie-inspired cocktails (Midnight Cowboy, Rick Dalton’s Big Mistake), and Michelob and Modelo on draught. Open until 2am, happy hours Mon-Fri 4pm-7pm. Decent kitchen, too.
Near the Hollywood Museum, bringing in tourists from Hollywood Boulevard, screen-filled Jameson’s Irish Pub starts its weekday happy hour at noon, serving Guinness, Smithwick’s and house lager by the pint or pitcher, Jameson-based specialty cocktails and game-time burgers. It also has branches in Santa Monica and Culver City.
Next door, Hot Motha Clucker prides itself on its hot Nashville-style chicken it once sold at a pop-up outlet at a car wash before Hollywood beckoned. TV sports, Mexican beers and quality micheladas, sassied-up beer in a salt-rimmed glass, also feature. Across Hollywood Boulevard, Mr Tempo Cantina shows sports and serves all your Mexican favourites amid a riot of gaudy colours that once passed for street art 40 years ago.
Just off Hollywood Boulevard on Wilcox Ave, the Brickyard Pub feels old-school, offering the simple pleasures of pool, darts, TV sports and plentiful happy hours, as well as a vast selection of craft beers.
You’ll find what is claimed to be LA’s best micheladas at the southern end of Lincoln Heights at Chupería #1 on a quiet stretch of N Mission Rd, where the Leal family has been dishing up tacos and tortas, and pouring Mexico’s most popular beers since 1985. TV sport is also integral to every visit. Vivamus venenatis, est quis fermentum condimentum, elit lorem maximus lacus, sed aliquet leo nisi nec justo.
In West Hollywood in an original roadhouse on Route 66 dating back to 1920, lively Barney’s Beanery now welcomes beer drinkers, sports fans, pool sharks and anyone in need of a burrito. Where bowls of chili were once served to hungry Prohibition-era truckers, party-minded regulars gather in cosy booths to babble or plot up at the bar counter to take in the game. Unmissable and open till 2am. Find branches in Burbank, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Westwood Village.
Further along Route 66, Hi Tops is the second of a successful mini-chain of gay sports bars, its most important attraction being ‘games on big-ass screens’, along with generous happy hours and regular DJ sessions.
Nearer Santa Monica, there’s a more neighbourhood vibe to the NFL-centric Banter Bar, which also takes its live music, pool and partying seriously. Open nightly until 2am, expected to show World Cup games and fire up the grill on the outdoor patio
Similar in vein and feel, with a blue-chip pedigree, Tiny’s Hi-Dive caters to homesick Chicagoans, laudably serving an anti-brunch menu, and pouring Paulaner Hefeweizen and Weihenstephaner. Also open until 2am.
In the same vicinity, The Nickel Mine on Santa Monica Boulevard manages to squeeze 23 screens and 24 beer taps into its convivial, intimate space. Happy hour runs Mon-Fri 3pm-7pm and Sun 4pm-7pm, and those draft options include house Nickel IPA.
Generous happy hours, TV sports and a friendly atmosphere also typify Founders Ale House, halfway to West Hollywood on W Pico Blvd, rotating its craft beers and including vegan alternatives on its menu.
A corner kick from Santa Monica Beach, Ye Olde King’s Head usually opens for breakfast and Premier League games at 8am but is stretching its schedule to screen all World Cup games this summer. Don’t be put off by the tacky gift shoppe – this has kept homesick rock stars in HP sauce and Quality Street chocolates since 1974.
Where to shop
The best soccer merchandise in Los Angeles
Suitably located in LA’s Fashion District, the Football Boutique not only stocks sought-after shirts and merchandise but stages viewing parties and houses a 1×1 street soccer cage. Ideal for hanging out and picking up on the local soccer scene.
