A group of socially conscious actresses and female entrepreneurs are bringing more of women’s soccer to Los Angeles.
Natalie Portman and venture capitalist Kara Nortman, along with gaming entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, are leading an expansion of the National Women’s Soccer League by establishing a team in the LA area in 2022, according to The Mercury News.
Portman, Nortman and Uhrman — the founder of OUYA, a now-defunct Android-based gaming platform that was acquired in 2015 — all have a financial stake in the team, and Serena Williams’ husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is the lead investor. Actresses Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner and Uzo Aduba are also involved.
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U.S. Women’s Soccer made international headlines last July after star player Megan Rapinoe parlayed a Women’s World Cup win on the field into activism for equal pay on the ground.
Portman met some of the players, which inspired her to get involved with expanding the league.
“I think it’s so important to have role models and heroes that are women for kids — both boys and girls — to see,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “And it’s just such an incredible sport that it really is a team sport. You see one woman’s success and all the others are cheering her on because one woman’s success is the whole team’s success.”
The team is tentatively named Angel City.