Los Angeles' newest soccer team has a star-studded ownership group that includes USWNT stars, actors and, yes, 2-year-old Olympia Ohanian.
Los Angeles' newest soccer team has a star-studded ownership group that includes award-winning actors, U.S. women's national team stars, one of the greatest tennis players of all time and her two-year-old daughter.
Yes, that's right. The young Olympia Ohanian, her mother Serena Williams and father Alexis Ohanian have a stake in the new NWSL team. Franchises like to connect with younger generations to grow their fanbase, and it looks like this team is taking that challenge quite literally.
The new team, which is currently using the nickname Angel City, will become the 11th franchise to play in the NWSL. Its ownership group also includes former USWNT stars Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy, as well as actors Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Garner and Uzo Aduba among a group that totals over 30 people.
Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian regularly post about their daughter on social media and like to play sports with her. The proud dad said their quality time kicking the soccer ball around partly inspired him to join the ownership group.
"I am proud to be a part of this wonderful group working to bring a women’s professional football club to Los Angeles," Ohanian said. "Chiefly, because I'm a fan of the game, but also because I believe there is massive potential for the sport and it's been undervalued by too many people for far too long. As someone who spends hours kicking around a football with my 2-year-old daughter, I want her to have a front-row seat to this revolution. I'm personally investing on behalf of my family because creating more opportunities in women's sports is important to my wife and me, and we want to be a part of making a better future for our daughter."
You occasionally see a sports franchise owner who is in their 30s or 40s, but a 2-year-old is certainly unique. It just goes to show you're never too young to start thinking about the future.