In an effort to get the National Women’s Soccer League into America’s second-biggest media market, an ownership group has reportedly established a limited liability company in Delaware called WFC LA and begun establishing trademarks for “Angel City FC,” according to a report from Meg Linehan of The Athletic.
The groundwork has been laid by digital media and gaming entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, who according to Linehan is listed as the CEO and president of the company. Uhrman once served as the vice president of business development and digital distribution at IGN Entertainment, and has been an advisor at various companies ever since.
Linehan also reported the Uhrman’s involvement comes as a surprise to those within the NWSL, as the assumption had been one of Los Angeles’ two men’s soccer franchises would lead the charge to bring a women’s team back to southern California. The legendary Mia Hamm has an ownership stake in LAFC.
Planting a team in L.A. would give the league a team in a vital market. A tenth team, based in Louisville, had already been slated to join the NWSL next year, and a Sacramento team is a possibility, too. But for a league that only has teams in three of the 10 most populace U.S. cities, a presence in Los Angeles would be a big boost.
First, the NWSL will become the first American team sport to return from a COVID-19 hiatus when it holds its Challenge Cup in Utah a little later this month.
