The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team was founded on August 14, 1959, and began play on September 10, 1960, as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), and spent its first season in Los Angeles, before moving to San Diego in 1961 to become the San Diego Chargers.[1][6] The Chargers joined the NFL as result of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, and played their home games at SDCCU Stadium. The return of the Chargers to Los Angeles was announced for the 2017 season, just one year after the Rams had moved back to the city from St. Louis.[7][8][9] The Chargers played their home games at Dignity Health Sports Park, formerly named StubHub Center, from 2017 to 2019. Starting in 2020, they will play their home games at SoFi Stadium, which they will share with the Los Angeles Rams.