Enrichment Arts & Culture

Natalie Portman among celebrities bringing women’s soccer team to LA

by Anagha Srikanth | July 21, 2020 | Jul. 21, 2020

Natalie portman at the academy awards

Story at a glance

  • The National Women’s Soccer League has awarded a majority women-founded group the rights to bring a professional women’s soccer team to Los Angeles.
  • Led by actress Natalie Portman, investors include tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Alexis Ohanian.
  • The team is planned to make its debut in the spring 2022 season.

Look out Los Angeles, there’s a new team in town. 

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) awarded “Angel City” — the formally coined name for the team until its official title is announced later this year — the rights to bring a professional women’s soccer team to Los Angeles. The majority women-founded group, named in honor of its planned home, is led by Natalie Portman, technology venture capitalist Kara Nortman, media and gaming entrepreneur Julie Uhrman and Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian. 

“Together, we aim to build not only a winning team on the field, but also to develop a passionately loyal fan base,” said founder Natalie Portman in a statement. “Sports are such a joyful way to bring people together, and this has the power to make tangible change for female athletes both in our community and in the professional sphere.”  

Portman said she was inspired after being introduced to several NWSL players and getting hooked on the sport. 

“The more time I spent with these women, the more I learned and the bigger impact I wanted to make. It was just so obvious — we needed to see these women play in LA. We needed a team here,” she told The Athletic. 

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A tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Ohanian and his firm, Initialized Capital, helped lead the investment. Other investors include Williams and their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., actors Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria and late night talk show host Lilly Singh. 

“I am proud to be a part of this wonderful group working to bring a women’s professional football club to Los Angeles,” Ohanian said in a statement. “Chiefly, because I’m a fan of the game, but also because I believe there is massive potential for the sport and it’s been undervalued by too many people for far too long. As someone who spends hours kicking around a football with my two-year-old daughter, I want her to have a front row seat to this revolution.”

The NWSL currently has nine teams, with the closest to L.A. being in Portland, Ore. Twelve former US Women’s National Team players from Southern California have also invested in the team, including Mia Hamm, who is also a co-owner of the city’s men’s team, Los Angeles Football Club. 

On social media, fans were thrilled. 

The team is scheduled to make its debut in Spring 2022. 

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