At Los Angeles Football Club it isn’t the sweet taste of victory but the sweet sound of victory whenever the club wins at home: “Shalala.”
The official victory song for LAFC (only done after wins and no other results) “Shalala” has not only become a post-match ritual following matches to celebrate wins, but it’s become a way for the players and fans to connect.
Created by LAFC supporters, the “Shalala” ritual is an uncomplicated one. Following a win, the players gather together in front of the North End. One player, sometimes the man of the match and other times a new player, is given a megaphone and is charged with starting the song. The team calls for the crowd to be silent. Then the player with the megaphone begins the chant slowly ,”Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la…L-A-F-C”
While the fans and players sing in unison, the team, as one, slowly starts moving toward the North End. As they get closer to the fans, the pace of the chant starts to get faster. After a few rounds of the verse, the players and fans are in full voice, singing the chant, and jumping together in unison.
“It’s nice to have that connection with the fans. Shalala will always be something iconic to the club,” said Christian Arango in a team video about the ritual.
In that same video Ilie Sánchez added: “It’s very special to me to involve the supporters in celebration of a victory. To connect with them and enjoy the experience and the joy together.”
The heartbeat of BMO Stadium, the home of LAFC, is the North End. And that heartbeat begins with The 3252, the Independent Supporters Union for LAFC.
While The 3252, named after the 3,252 seats in their section, support the club with one voice, the section itself is made up of smaller supporters groups. According to the union’s website, there are nine official supporters groups within The 3252: Black Army 1850, District Nine Ultras, the Cuervos, the Expo Originals, The Tigers Supporters Group (TSG), The Krew, LAFC Luckys, Los Angelinos Originales, and Empire Boys.
Each group, founded independently of each other, has a different mission, culture, and makeup but all of them come together on matchdays in the North End to provide their support for LAFC.
“There were a number of different groups at the time (of LAFC’s founding) such as the Black Army, the Expos, the Luckys, Cuervos and District 9 ultras,” the Director of The 3252, Julio Ramos, told AS USA in an interview earlier this year. “We all understood that for us to be able to be successful as a supporter group, we had to work under one name and that was a must and was our goal since day one.”
That support doesn’t go unnoticed by the LAFC players. Or their opponents.
Last season Raheem Edwards, an LA Galaxy player who previously played with LAFC, cited The 3252 specifically the day before the two teams met in the U.S. Open Cup.
“I want to beat LAFC so bad,” he told the media. “The [3252, LAFC Supporters’ Group] … I’m going to be honest, I just want to piss them off.”
The Galaxy ended up winning that match 3-1 and continuing their streak of never losing at home to their rivals.
That streak came to an end earlier this season when LAFC traveled to LA Galaxy and won 3-2. In the post-game presser, LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo highlighted the supporters.
“It’s definitely a gift for the fans,” he told the media. “3252 [LAFC's supporters group] and the rest of our community, family at LAFC has done such amazing work over the first five seasons, and this has been a long time coming.”
Following the match, LAFC tweeted out a video of a player chanting with the supporters with the caption “Every Stadium feels like home.”
LAFC won’t have to leave their home during Leagues Cup if they keep winning. And if the club has its way, the sounds of “Shalala” will be the final thing everyone hears at the end of Leagues Cup 2023.
