La Fortaleza

Quotes

On what the supporters section and active support means:

The active support seen for ACFC in its first season has been unrivaled across the NWSL. Similarly, attendance has broken records in the league as the supporter section for ACFC games have sold out or nearly sold out at almost every game. This is a statement for not only women in sports but sports in general. Win or lose, our active support pours into our players with cheers of encouragement, pride, and joyfulness. We are ready to bring the noise in La Fortaleza in season two, and we invite you to join us! Volemos!

Active support in the supporters section is the 12th player, in the stands. The supporters section injects energy into the team that fuels them for 90+ minutes. We support the team on and off the field, in the rain and sunshine, at home or away, y en las buenas o las malas. Our love and devotion to the team is unconditional.

Active support is what creates such a unique atmosphere in soccer. The supporters bring life and energy for 90+ and are always there to support the players on the field. Even when the game gets rough we keep going because we put all of our faith and love behind our team.

Every home game is a celebration of football, our club, and our community. Our community is our strength. We are La Fortaleza!

Many supporters have been avid fans of the NWSL for years, waiting on the sidelines for a team to come to Los Angeles — in particular, wishing for the opportunity to create a robust supporters' section dedicated to women's soccer like La Fortaleza. For Angel City, the trophies have not come yet, so having a supporters section as rowdy, passionate and fervent as La Fortaleza goes further than just supporting our team. La Fortaleza is a place where we found that we belong. A place where we feel that we can make an impact. It is a place that represents the crossroads and diversity of our community, where we can forget about life's challenges for 90+ minutes. Active support from chanting, waving flags, drumming, etc., drive La Fortaleza.

On what La Fortaleza and Los Angeles have in common:

With hundreds of supporters representing the City of Los Angeles, and many more coming from neighboring cities, you will see a true representation of diversity and inclusivity in the supporter section. Chanting for 90+ minutes of every game is a ritual supported by dozens of drummers, capos leading chants, and banners and flags flying. You will always find Pride flags and trans flags flying in the section, along with various others representing different supporter groups and the many cultures in Los Angeles. Children and entire families make for an even richer environment of belonging.

La Fortaleza is the official name of the Angel City supporters group section. Fortaleza means strength and fortitude in Spanish, which is what our supporters group section embodies. The City of Los Angeles is similarly a fuerza charged by the diverse group of individuals that contribute to the success of the City. La Fortaleza and the City of Los Angeles are both forces representing resilience y resistencia to withstand all.

On how the name La Fortaleza was selected:

The supporters group section name was something the supporters never wanted to rush into. We wanted the name to develop organically by the supporters. We thought the name of the section should represent the supporters and the club, as a whole. After a few games, we began to get a sense of our identity. Our first team captain, a beloved Angelina, said ‘It's going to be our fortress,’ when she described the environment and crowd at the stadium during the first match. From there the name fortress, fuerza, fortaleza began to catch on. The supporters collected names, voted, and when the results came in, el pueblo/la gente had spoken! The name would be ‘La Fortaleza.’

We put a lot of thought into who we were as supporters. We know our collaboration was something new and special in the league but we wanted the name of the section to come naturally. Early on Ali Riley called the stadium a fortress and we loved it. It stuck with us but we also wanted to hear from everyone in the supporters section. We asked for suggestions from everyone and got over 100 suggestions but the Fortress and Fortaleza seemed to be a running theme. We narrowed it down to a smaller list and it stuck. It seemed like many of the supporters also felt that this was the best name for the section.