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- Seven Seven Six and Initialized Capital also backing Angel City
- Other investors include Jay Shetty, Shawn Johnson East and Andrew East
- Latest capital boost comes ahead of club’s inaugural NWSL season
The National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Angel City have closed a Series A financing round, which included investment firm Seven Seven Six, Initialized Capital and several new backers.
The investor round includes actress Gabrielle Union, singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera, author and podcaster Jay Shetty, as well as Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson East and her husband, former National Football League (NFL) player Andrew East.
In addition, Rachel Zoe and husband Rodger Berman are investing via venture capital firm Rachel Zoe Ventures. Zoe’s company Curateur is also an Angel City sponsor.
Other notable additions include Marisa Sharkey and Bianca Gates, whose company Birdies is already the club’s jersey sleeve partner, founder of women’s fashion brand A.L.C. Andrea Lieberman, Blythe Haaga, Paul and Catalina Haaga and family, as well as social entrepreneur Betsy Williams.
The group is also joined by former XFL Los Angeles Wildcats president Heather Brooks Karatz, sports executive Ben Gumpert and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ president of business operations Andrew Friedman, among others. Venture capitalists Michael Sidgmore, Jess Lee, Lydia Jett, Aaron Wong, Daniel Karubian and Megan Hyatt are also on board.
The amount raised was not disclosed.
The names add to Angel City’s star-studded lineup of backers ahead of its inaugural season this year. Founding investors include actresses Natalie Portman and Jessica Chastain, plus tennis great Serena Williams, who is married to lead Angel City investor and Reddit chairman Alexis Ohanian.
Actresses Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria and Uzo Aduba are also part of the original ownership group, as are former US women’s soccer players including Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach. Other names involved with the club are tennis legend Billie Jean King and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) ace Candace Parker.
“We are honoured to welcome these investors to Angel City FC,” said Julie Uhrman (pictured above middle), Angel City founder and president. “They are an incredibly diverse group of individuals whose life and work align with the mission of our club.
“Each of our new investors are committed to supporting our purpose to set higher expectations on and off the pitch through the impact we are making in the community and on the women’s game. This group joins our incredibly active and passionate roster of founding investors, and we couldn’t be more excited that they are part of the Angel City family.”
Angel City will take to the field in the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament starting 19th March.
