Following the recent sale announcement of San Diego Wave FC, the initial California NWSL team, Angel City FC, is also set to follow suit as they seek a new owner just two days before their 2024 NWSL season kickoff as reported by Sportico.
Ohanian Holds Ground As Largest Stakeholder
As the team’s largest shareholder, Alexis Ohanian said in an email he was not selling his equity and declined further comment, according to the report.
However, the team also includes three additional female co-founders of Kara Nortman, Natalie Portman, and Julie Uhrman.
Additionally, the ownership group includes nearly 100 co-owners with a variety of names such as former USWNT stars Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Billie Jean King, Sophia Bush, Serena Williams, James Corden, Christina Aguilera, Cobi Jones, and Gabrielle Union.
The club has hired Moelis
MC
& Company to explore a control sale of the franchise with necessary permission from all four primary owners to shop a stake that includes board control.
Ohanian is the primary representative of the board of governors within the NWSL to represent the club, however, he does not control the board of Angel City FC.
The process to sell the equity in the team follows tension between some board members due to the operations and finances of the club. Although Angel City FC is the most valuable NWSL team with a $180 million valuation, the club is not profitable.
Angel City FC Sets A New Standard
In 2022, Angel City made their season debut alongside their California rivals, San Diego Wave FC, who also made their season debut in the same year after 10 years of fans being without an NWSL team in California.
While the average revenue for an NWSL team is around $66 million, Angel City FC has more than doubled the average revenue as they enter their third season.
As both California clubs paid the $2 million expansion fee to enter the league, the expansion fee has now increased to $53 million. Bay FC, California’s third expansion team that joins the league this year, has paid the increased fee and are well on their way to making strides of their own in the league.
Following their comeback success to being in the lower ranks of the NWSL standings, Angel City FC clinched their first playoff spot last season with an overall 8-7-7 record last year.
In the NWSL offseason, they signed younger players such as 17-year-old Kennedy Fuller, Casey Phair, Giselle Thompson, and Maddy Curry.
“I hope that we can play an exciting style of soccer, we want to be more ruthless in the attacking third,” Angel City FC Head Coach Becki Tweed said ahead of Sunday’s game. “There is never a smooth journey for a season and I think that we have a group that is able to withstand adversity and deal with moments that we need to be resilient in. We know it’s not going to be smooth sailing, the NWSL never is, but staying focused on your process and buying into the process is a thing that this group does really well.”
Angel City FC will kick off the 2024 NWSL season as they host their new California rivals, Bay FC on Sunday, March 17 at 5:30pm PT/7:30pm ET.
Read the full article here
