NWSL's Angel City FC becomes highest-valued women's sports team

Los Angeles's Angel City FC is one of the newest teams in the National Women's Soccer League. It joined in 2022, backed by actress Natalie Portman and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and immediately made a cultural and financial splash. Angel City won fans across the country and wound up being responsible for more than a third of the league's collective revenue in its debut season.

This week, Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay announced that they'd be acquiring a controlling stake in the franchise. Their investment pushed Angel City's valuation to $250 million after just two full seasons of operation. That makes Angel City the most valuable women's sports franchise on the planet, out-ranking its peers in women's soccer and its competitors in sports like basketball and volleyball.

Angel City's immense financial growth isn't just down to this acquisition; it's steadily generated more revenue than any of its peers in women's soccer. Some of that has come from lucrative deals with sponsors like Doordash while some has come from Angel City's reliable gate receipts. The team boasts an average attendance of 20,000 fans per game.

While the growth is impressive, it hasn't come without struggle. Angel City's leadership team has been beset by rumors of instability and infighting . The team has also struggled to pull together results on the field. Angel City finished eighth in the regular season in 2022 and fifth in 2023, but it's languishing in 11th in 2024 and in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

But neither the infighting nor the on-field underperformance have deterred Angel City's fans. They've turned up in big numbers since the team's opening match and their loyalty has been an inspiration for everyone else in U. S. Soccer. Big-name athletes like Syndey Leroux and Christen Press have done plenty to sell Angel City to those fans, but the team's largely female leadership team, consistent branding and focus on community-building in the Los Angeles metro have helped immensely, too.

"As fans and friends of ACFC, we are thrilled to join this team as owners," Willow Bay said in a statement. "With this investment of resources and capital, we hope to accelerate the growth of the Club and the NWSL."

The takeover is subject to approval by the NWSL's board, but is expected to pass without issue within two-to-three months.

The NWSL is on break for the Summer Olympics. Angel City will return to league play on Saturday, Aug. 24.