The rumored desert tournament is officially announced and the LA Galaxy round out their preseason schedule
CARSON, Calif. — The LA Galaxy announced Tuesday that the club would host the inaugural Coachella Valley Invitational, held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA. The event will run from February 10-19 on fields that hold the popular Coachella and Stage Coach music festivals every year.
The initial crop of teams features five MLS Clubs and one USL club. The Galaxy will send both their senior side and LA Galaxy II sides to face off against DC United, LAFC, New York Red Bulls, and the Seattle Sounders.
“It’s important for our team to compete against quality opposition in the build-up to our 2022 campaign,” said LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney. “The Coachella Valley Invitational accomplishes this goal, and we are thrilled to participate in the inaugural edition of this competition.”
While the Polo Club lies approximately 90 miles inland from the coast of California, this year’s tournament will not be open to the public — probably wise for both attendees and players alike. But future editions of the invitational should include the public in a very spring-training-like atmosphere.
With the announcement of the desert tournament – dubbed “Goalchella” by fans – the Galaxy now have their complete preseason game schedule.
The Galaxy, who have already reported to camp and spent their first day on the training field on Monday, will host Toronto FC on January 29 for a closed-door scrimmage at DHSP at 11 AM. On February 5, the Galaxy will host Bruce Arena’s New England Revolution at DHSP at 7:30 PM (tickets are available online).
The club will then depart for games against the Seattle Sounders (Feb. 10, 11 AM) and the New York Red Bulls (Feb. 13, 12 PM) at the Polo Club before wrapping up their schedule with a closed-door scrimmage against the Vancouver Whitecaps on February 16 (1:30 PM) and a full dress rehearsal against DC United on February 19 (3 PM, Tickets available online) with the final two games back in Carson at DHSP.
The rest of the schedule for the Coachella Valley Invitational will feature LA Galaxy II vs Seattle Sounders at 1 PM on February 13 followed by the Red Bulls vs DC at 4 PM. February 15 will have DC United vs LAFC at 4 PM before a February 19 game between LAFC and Red Bull at 12 PM.
The Galaxy will hold seven preseason games in total, with two games open to the public. And they’ll kick-off the 2022 season on February 27 when they host New York City FC – the defending MLS Cup Champions — at DHSP at 2 PM.
Broadcast details for all games are currently unclear. In the past, a handful of the preseason games have been available for viewing on the Galaxy’s website.
