ANGEL CITY

Natalie Portman Among Celebs to Bring Professional Women’s Soccer Team to LA for First Time in 12 Years

The movie star began work on a potential women’s soccer franchise after the U.S. women’s team won the 2019 World Cup.

Actress Natalie Portman and a star-studded group of owners announced Tuesday that they had acquired the rights to form a National Women’s Soccer League team in Los Angeles in 2022. No women’s soccer team has called the city home for 12 years. The franchise will, for now, use the nickname “Angel City.” The other owners include athletes Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, Rachel Buehler, Tisha Venturini-Hoch and Abby Wambach, who among them have won multiple gold medals and World Cup championships. The actresses Eva Longoria, Uzo Aduba, Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain were also involved. Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian is an investor in the 30-person group. “It just seems like it was ideal to bring [women’s] soccer to L.A. because we have such passionate fans here, such robust youth soccer,” Portman told the Los Angeles Times. She reportedly started work on forming the franchise after the U.S. women’s national team won the 2019 World Cup.