8:41 AM ET
Graham HaysESPN.com
Spanish superpower Barcelona had publicly suggested its interest in fielding an NWSL team in the Los Angeles market in 2017, but no offer was ever reached.
Either as part of a venture with Barcelona or independently, LAFC has actually likewise been regularly linked to NWSL interest. Aduba, Ferrera, Garner, Longoria and Portman attended when the USWNT beat Belgium at LAFCs Banc of California Stadium in 2019.
The other previous national team players in the ownership group are Shannon Boxx, Rachel Buehler, Amanda Cromwell, Joy Fawcett, Tisha Venturini Hoch, Angela Hucles, Shannon MacMillan, Saskia Webber and sisters Lorrie Fair Allen and Ronnie Fair Sullins.
The Los Angeles team will be the NWSLs 11th group, following Racing Louisvilles debut in 2021.
Neither the WUSA nor WPS ever fielded as lots of as 11 teams. The NWSL started play in 2013 with 8 teams and reached its previous high-water mark of 10 teams in the 2016-17 seasons, prior to the Boston Breakers folded prior to the 2018-19 season.
Los Angeles had actually long been viewed as a landing spot for the NWSL, which is now in its eighth year of competition and does not have actually a team based in California.
Both the Womens United Soccer Association (WUSA) and Womens Professional Soccer (WPS) leagues, previous models of the ladiess expert soccer league, had teams in Southern California– the WUSAs San Diego Spirit and WPS Los Angeles Sol.
” Weve long sought the best partner in LA considering the NWSL fanbase that currently exists in the region and the enormous interest in femaless soccer in basic,” NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird said in a declaration.
” Those factors, along with an amazing ownership group make this an ideal circumstance and we couldnt be more enjoyed move forward.”
Hollywood stars and more than a dozen former members of the U.S. womens nationwide team have formed an ownership group to bring womens professional soccer to Los Angeles in 2022.
The new team, which has yet to be called, was revealed on Tuesday.
– Stream FC Daily on ESPN+- Insider Notebook: Arsenal vs. Ozil, McKennie interest
Led by venture capitalists Alexis Ohanian and Kara Nortman and business owner Julie Uhrman, the ownership group also consists of actresses Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria and Natalie Portman, in addition to talk program host Lilly Singh.
Serena Williams, who is wed to Ohanian, is also part of the ownership group.
– Hollywood A-listers start NWSL group in LA – Sources: Chelsea eye Havertz when UCL safe – Moyes: Solskjaer given time unlike me – Beckham: Madrid, Man Utd not developed in a day – De Gea given Utd backing after oversights
Among the 14 previous USWNT players who become part of the group are Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Lauren Holiday and Abby Wambach.
” I am happy to be a part of this fantastic group working to bring a ladiess expert football club to Los Angeles,” Ohanian said.
” Chiefly, since Im a fan of the game, but likewise because I believe there is huge potential for the sport and its been ridiculously undervalued by a lot of people for far too long. As somebody who spends hours subjugating a football with my 2-year-old child, I desire her to have a front-row seat to this transformation.”
Most of the former U.S. gamers are Southern California locals or have ties to the area, as holds true for Hamm, who is also part of the Major League Soccer (MLS) LAFC ownership group.
The Angel City group did not indicate an immediate association with an existing MLS group or other entity and stated a venue partner, as well as the clubs main name, would be revealed at a later date.
Six of the 9 present NWSL teams are associated with maless expert groups: four with MLS groups, one with a United Soccer League (USL) group and one with Olympique Lyonnais of France.
The NWSLs latest group, Racing Louisville FC, which was announced in October and will play in the 2021 league, is associated with the USLs Louisville City FC.
CloseGraham Hays covers college sports for espnW, consisting of softball and soccer. Hays began with ESPN in 1999.
