CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) -- Tryouts kicked off Wednesday for youngsters hoping to join San Diego FC's Right To Dream Academy.
The academy is meant for players of all ages to be accepted into San Diego FC's school in El Cajon, where their education and soccer training will be fully paid for.
The academy is a chance for every kid's dream of becoming a soccer player to come true.
Tryouts on Wednesday and Thursday will be the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center (2800 Olympic Pkwy.). On Monday, tryouts will be in Tijuana at the Romero Manzo Stadium
Joaquin Escoto, Executive Vice President of San Diego FC and the Right To Dream Academy, said, "We know that for many years decades, the best players from San Diego and Tijuana are not staying locally. They're going somewhere else because they didn't have that opportunity, and San Diego has produced the most amount of professional players in MLS … we can't lose any top talent.”
Escoto said thousands of slots for Wednesday's tryouts filled in a matter of hours. The next tryout date is fully booked already as well, so there is now a wait list into the academy.
However, Escoto said more tryout dates will come, and players should stay connected online and through social media for new tryout dates.
San Diego FC's goal is to fill their openings for the academy by June 25, 2025, and then players will have a chance to excel at the academy and play soccer one day either at the college level, internationally, or for San Diego's Major League Soccer franchise.
In 2026, San Diego FC will begin tryouts for the girls.
