Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union: Building a legacy in the City of Brotherly Love.
The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began playing in 2010 as an expansion team. The club's home stadium is Subaru Park, a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Delaware River.
- Character
- Cross-Country Rival
- Affiliation
- MLS Eastern Conference (Union) vs. Western Conference (LAFC)
- First appears
- 2018 MLS Regular Season
- Status
- Active Rivalry
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
The Union are currently owned by Keystone Sports & Entertainment, with Jay Sugarman serving as majority owner and chairman. Professional basketball player Kevin Durant serves as a minority owner. The Union finished as runners-up in the 2014, 2015 and 2018 U.S. Open Cup tournaments and the 2022 MLS Cup final. In 2025, Philadelphia secured the Supporters' Shield with their regular season performance, the second in the club's history.
In Their Own Story
The club's early years were defined by dramatic turns. In their inaugural 2010 season, Sébastien Le Toux scored the first goal in a home opener win over D.C. United and later netted the Union's first Subaru Park goal against Seattle Sounders FC. The 2011 season saw a complete turnaround under Nowak, highlighted by a stellar start where they won four of their first six games before falling to Houston Dynamo in the playoffs. By 2012, the team hosted the MLS All-Star Game at PPL Park (now Subaru Park), defeating Chelsea F.C. 3-2. The club also reached the 2014 U.S. Open Cup final for the first time. Under Jim Curtin, who took charge in 2014, the Union returned to the Open Cup final in 2015 against Sporting Kansas City.
Reader's Guide
The Union played their inaugural game on March 25, 2010, losing 2–0 to Seattle Sounders FC at Qwest Field. Sébastien Le Toux scored the first goal for Philadelphia in their home opener on April 10, 2010, a 3–2 win over D.C. United at Lincoln Financial Field. The first match at Subaru Park was on June 27, 2010, against Seattle Sounders FC; Le Toux scored the Union's initial goal at the venue from a penalty kick, helping secure a 3–1 victory. All 12,000 season ticket packages for 2010 were sold prior to this opener at Subaru Park.
Did You Know?
- The Union's first goal scorer was Sébastien Le Toux.
- The Union finished 7th in the Eastern Conference in their inaugural 2010 season.
- The Union made their first MLS Cup Playoffs appearance in 2011.
- Subaru Park was originally known as PPL Park and hosted the 2012 MLS All-Star Game.
More in Derbies & Rivals
Elsewhere in the LAFC universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record
