SUMMARY
- Angel City FC is a soccer team in the USA that plays in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
- The team was valued at around $100 million before it started playing in 2022.
Angel City FC is a soccer team in the USA that plays in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The team is based out of Los Angeles, California, and began playing in the NWSL in the 2022 season. The NWSL team gained the spotlight for its owners, which include some high-profile names from sports and Hollywood.
Angel City became the first women’s soccer team in Los Angeles since 2010. 14 years ago, Los Angeles Sol stopped its operations and withdrew from the Women’s Professional Soccer. The team is gaining rapid popularity within the city in the last two years.
Natalie Portman leads the ownership group of Angel City
Angel City is a unique team in the sense that the majority of its ownership is controlled by females. The group of ownership was led by Hollywood actress, Natalie Portman. Other high-profile owners include Eva Longoria, Serena Williams, YouTuber Lilly Singh, Mia Hamm, Sophia Bush, and many others.
The time has come to reshape expectations on & off the soccer field.
This is the place. The time is now. Welcome to the beginning. #WeAreAngelCity pic.twitter.com/M3bvsmiAfm
— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) July 21, 2020
Natalie Portman commented that she wanted to shift the soccer culture in her city, which gave her inspiration for the club. Portman has explained that the glamour in the ownership is to help the club reach its goals in the coming seasons rather than distract from the on-field action.
Portman wants to shift the soccer culture by amplifying female athletes. The USA has already some big female icons like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan. But with Angel City FC, the owners are interested in creating the next line of female superstars in soccer.
The ownership group helped in landing a stadium agreement with the LA Galaxy of MLS. As per the agreement, Angel City FC was allowed to use the BMO stadium for their matches. The BMO stadium was originally used by LA Galaxy before 2022 but now two teams in different American leagues use it for their matches.
Angel City performance in NSWL
Angel City’s first season in NSWL came in 2022. In that season, they finished 8th in the league with 29 points. They won only eight games out of 22 matches, which wasn’t enough for them to qualify for playoffs. The average attendance for that season was around 19,000.
Hollywood finish from Sydney Leroux as Angel City FC make it to the play-offs on #NWSLDecisionDay
🎥 via @NWSL pic.twitter.com/ysZVgudeEZ
— FotMob (@FotMob) October 16, 2023
In 2023, Angel City improved their points tally by two points and finished with 31 points in 22 games. They racked up eight wins again but this time it was enough for them to qualify for the playoffs. They made it to the quarterfinals of the playoffs before being eliminated by OL Reign.
Angel City lead the league in 2022 with most merchandise sale
The NSWL team burst onto the scene with a strong showing in 2022. Their morals and ideology connected with the young fans of the area, which was evident in the merchandise sale of the team. As per reports, Angel City FC sold around $6 million of merchandise in 2022. These figures propelled them to the top of the league in this benchmark.
The club also earned a record-breaking sponsorship with DoorDash. The deal was the biggest sponsorship deal in the history of any team in NSWL. The revenue of the LA team was staggering, as it amounted to around 38% of the revenue of the whole year of the league.
The President of the club, Julie Uhrman was delighted with the results of the first year. She stated the club has focused on building a brand and community that resonated with the people of the city. The results were evident that the approach has set a strong foundation for the club.
Angel City has its own HBO documentary
The foundational years of the LA team were boosted when HBO released a documentary on the first season of Angel City. The documentary was a miniseries that followed the team throughout their first season in NSWL. The story was intriguing for the fans, who were witnessing the first women’s team for soccer in LA since 2010.
The season had three episodes which were released on HBO Max. The HBO crew had over 90 hours of footage from the first season, which was cut down to only 60 minutes of the running time to give the most action-packed moments to the fans of the team.
Natalie Portman’s team has taken a different approach in NSWL. The majority of the teams in the NSWL league are affiliated with an existing team in MLS. However, Angel City FC is not linking itself with any other MLS team. They only share the stadium with LA Galaxy, other than that they are building their own identity.
Is Angel City on track to become the most valuable team in North America?
The team has had a sensational start off the field, which has turned some heads in the soccer industry. They won the award for the Sports Team of the Year in 2023 from the Sports Business Journal. As per reports, they are on track to becoming the most valuable women’s sports team in North America.
The team was valued at around $100 million before it started playing in 2022. That valuation has only skyrocketed since their NSWL debut. The club has averaged a healthy attendance of 19,000 in its first two seasons, which are positive sign for the club. The Doordash sponsorship and merchandise figures are just the cherry on the top.
With the new year underway and preseason training beginning today, it’s time to start looking ahead to the 2024 NWSL season. The weekly Countdown to 2024 series will break down everything you need to know when the league kicks off on March 16.
Read the first installment below!— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) January 24, 2024
An impressive showing in the upcoming 2024 season of NSWL will help the team to increase its valuation even more and bring in more fans to the stadium. The first two successful seasons can only be topped off with a deep run into the playoffs in the NSWL. The upcoming season might be the one for the team from Los Angeles.