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2 months ago
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Over a month ago, Angel City FC notched a new mark in the growth of women’s soccer as Willow Bay and Bob Iger agreed to a record breaking investment in the club to value the team at $250 million with an additional $50 million investment in the future of the club.
Now that the NWSL regular season is back in action, key figures from Angel City shared their thoughts on how this investment impacts the club to finish well in the second half of the regular season.
“Our ambitions were really big at the beginning…”
When Angel City FC was founded in 2020 by Natalie Portman, Kara Nortman, and Julie Uhrman, the club was also focused on creating impact off the pitch through various channels.
One example is seen through their 10% sponsorship model, which is where 10% of every sponsorship deal is reallocated back into helping the community. Through this model, over $7 million has been invested back into the community through donated meals and food, from partners such as DoorDash and Sprouts Farmers Markets.
“Our ambitions were really big at the beginning,” Uhrman told The Equalizer. “We felt that if we had a seat at the table and built the club in a way that was deserving of the sport, our players, and our community and have the level of investment that could elevate it, that could be on equal standing of any other team or sport in the world. We believed that we could draw the attention and the awareness to continue that conversation on equity and to drive towards it and be successful at it.”
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With Uhrman’s role as the club president, the club leadership team looks at partnerships and investors through the lens of how their values and missions align.
When Bay and Iger came into the picture, Uhrman saw that they were committed to the same values of driving towards equity by investing in the game.
“I think having this new ownership come in has helped me to take a pause knowing that anybody who is a part of Angel City is part of the highest valued women’s soccer team in the world,” said general manager Angela Hucles Mangano. “I think that is a testament of all the work that has gone into this club and organization since day one. Looking back at season one and where we were, we literally had to create what exists today, which is incredible.”
Growing as a team to see results in the remainder of the season
Since joining the NWSL, the success of the club has been built from the ground up in a short time to staff the team, establish quality player operations, and facilitate new avenues for strategizing.
With Bay and Iger’s investment as the controlling owners, Uhrman, Portman, Nortman, Alexis Ohanian, and Gillian Berry also serve on the Board of Directors. The timing of the investment also capitalizes on the growth off the field as the club resumes the second half of the NWSL regular season.
During the league’s first-ever NWSL x Liga MX Summer Cup, Angel City made it to their first tournament semifinal game as they were undefeated in their first three games.
Alongside the milestone of star forward Christen Press making her return, the club also announced the signing of former Manchester United Women captain, Katie Zelem.
“At least with this initial signing of Katie and someone who is fiercely competitive and can bring a little bit more of that edge and swagger even is great and I think it’s being very well received in our environment already,” said Hucles Mangano. “Some of these changes and how we’re utilizing this transfer window is really going to be telling for how we’re approaching the second half of the regular season because I think we’re continuously evolving.”
Although the team fell 1-0 to Gotham FC in the Summer Cup Semi Final, the club continued the momentum in their performances as they defeated FC Juárez 7-0 in a friendly with a hat trick from Messiah Bright and three other goal scorers.
Angel City FC made it to the Summer Cup Semi Finals and look to make their first appearance in the NWSL Semi Finals. Source: Angel City FC.
Angel City also kicked off the regular season with a bang as they faced their SoCal rivals, San Diego Wave FC and defeated the Wave 2-1 while on the road.
“I think this club is constantly building and striving for what’s next and I think that’s always exciting,” said head coach Becki Tweed. “Obviously as this club grows, we grow in staff, we grow in processes and formalities and culture and who we want to be and that investment allows us to grow in another space too and that’s really exciting. My focus has to be solely on football, winning games, and the team, but the people that are around me are constantly raising the standards and it’s exciting to be on board with that and to continue to watch and help grow.”
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Next steps for investment and future growth
As Angel City continues to pave the way in their success both on and off the field, their plans for the future include following in the footsteps of clubs that have created their own training facility.
With the Kansas City Current’s $18 million training facility, the RSL $50 million facility, and Racing Louisville’s $15 million training facility, Angel City sees this as an opportunity to invest in their players as they spend a majority of their time training and preparing for games.
“Facilities have been something that we as a club have wanted to do from the very beginning,” said Hucles Mangano. “I think facilities are the next big marker that we can look at on the map. That’s something that both Willow and Bob have already put out there that they really want to support this team and the players and that’s what really excites me more than anything else, is how we are putting soccer first at Angel City.”
With the remainder of the NWSL season, the growth of the club in their key performances and milestones is fueling their fire for what’s next, making playoffs.
In year three of their existence, Angel City has yet to reach the NWSL playoffs but remain focused on reaching this first target as they climb their way up the ranks.
“We really are aligned in wanting to continue to make Angel City be an example of what’s possible when investment, impact, and excellence come together,” said Urhman. “I think we’re seeing the sport change and evolve in front of our eyes and it’s exciting to see these teams lean in and find talent and to attract them to the NWSL continues to reinforce that we have the best players, which creates the most competitive product, which creates the most entertaining game for our fans and it’s great to see everybody in the NWSL recognize that there is great football outside our borders and that they want to bring it here.”
