Few teams are leading the way in the growth of women’s sports more than Angel City FC.
Founded in 2020 by a star-studded investor group, including Natalie Portman, Serena Williams and Billie Jean King, the Los Angeles-based club has blazed a trail in female football in recent years.
GettyAngel City are gearing up for their fourth season in the NWSL in March[/caption]
After making their on-field debut in 2022, the National Women’s Soccer League side became the world’s most valuable women’s sports team last July, following a $250million (£192.3m) takeover.
The landmark moment came after the club’s purchase by CEO of the Walt Disney Company Bob Iger, and his wife Willow Bay.
In doing so, Angel City more than doubled the previous sale record held by league rivals San Diego Wave, who were bought for $120m (£92.2m) in March of the same year.
At present, the NWSL outfit generate more than $30m a year in revenue, and have no plans of stopping there.
President Julie Uhrman has revealed the California side are now well on course to achieve their goal of becoming the first $1billion valued women’s team in the next five years.
Uhrman co-founded the Angel City alongside actress Portman and entrepreneur Kara Nortman, before bringing a host of A-Listers on board as investors.
This included actresses Eva Longoria and Sophia Bush, legendary athletes in the form of tennis stars Williams, King and Ilana Kloss, as well as retired USWNT stars such as Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm.
Appearing on talkSPORT’s ‘How Football Works‘, Uhrman discussed her club’s remarkable path to success.
She said: “The way we wanted to build it had never been done before – using sports as a platform to drive to equity.
“Building a women’s professional soccer club in LA, which is really the sports capital of the world, where there are 11 professional sports teams – two men’s soccer clubs in the beach, in the mountains.
GettyKara Nortman, Natalie Portman and Julie Uhrman first got the Angel City project underway in 2019[/caption]
GettyAngel City had an average attendance of 19,313 fans per match in 2024[/caption]
“So it was really difficult for us to get people to invest in this idea. In 2019 there wasn’t a lot of media coverage on women’s sports, it was less than 3%.
“There was no national broadcast deal, so at the time we weren’t on ESPN and CBS and Amazon Prime. And so nobody felt that there was a real business model around women’s sports.”
Uhrman then explained how the idea was able to get off the ground with the help of some huge names.
She continued: “When we were trying to raise money, the individuals who believed in our story, where it resonated that we could build an organisation where mission and capital could coexist, were celebrities and athletes who know how to utilise their platform to push forward their social initiatives.”
“We got our first ‘Yes’ from Eva Longoria, and then we realised that we were just talking to the wrong people.
“We launched with something like 60 investors: Eva Longoria, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Gardner, Sophia Bush.
Getty39-time Grand Slam champion Billie Jean King is one of a number of stars to invest in Angel City[/caption]
“We also had 14 former US Women’s National team players Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, and of course the great Billy Jean King and Ilana Kloss.
“Being able to leverage their platform and their voice to tell our story – why it was different, and why people should be excited about Angel City absolutely made a difference when we were bringing Angel City to life.”
And with Uhrman revealing her goal of seeing Angel City become the first billion-dollar valued women’s team in 2023, the businesswoman admitted recent progress has made this aim a real possibility.
When asked if the team were on track to achieve this, her response was: “I mean we’re 25% of the way there!
“So yeah I feel great about it. We’ve been incredibly successful off the pitch.”
And Angel City have more than just commercial success on their mind, as Uhrman shared her ambitions for the club to reach their second ever play-off campaign in the upcoming NWSL season, having missed out last term after finishing in 12th place.