Angel City FC

Did You Know?

• The club's eight-figure sponsorship deal with DoorDash is the largest in NWSL history.
• Angel City FC sold $6 million in merchandise in 2022, leading the league.
• The club's 2023 revenue of $31 million was nearly double that of the second-highest team in the NWSL.

History

The NWSL awarded Los Angeles an expansion franchise for the 2022 season on July 21, 2020. The team was launched with a majority female ownership group led by actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, and venture capitalist Alexis Ohanian, who also represents the club on the league's board of governors. Other founding members included Serena Williams, Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria, Lilly Singh, Casey Neistat, Jenna Segal, and former U.S. women's national team players Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Rachel Van Hollebeke, Shannon Boxx, Amanda Cromwell, Lorrie Fair, Ronnie Fair, Joy Fawcett, Angela Hucles, Shannon MacMillan, Tisha Venturini, Saskia Webber, Lauren Holiday, and Abby Wambach.

At launch, the team used 'Angel City' as a tentative nickname and was in discussions with groups including the LA Galaxy for a stadium agreement. The club's name was confirmed as Angel City FC on October 21, 2020, and additional owners were announced, including Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss, Candace Parker, P. K. Subban, Sophia Bush, Becky G, James Corden, Cobi Jones, Ryan Kalil, and Uzo Aduba. Angel City FC began regular-season play on April 29, 2022 under head coach Freya Coombe, finishing 8th with 29 points.

In August 2022, the club hosted Tigres UANL Femenil in its first international friendly, winning 1-0, and lost 2-0 to the Mexico women's national team in the first Copa Angelina on September 5, 2022. A three-part documentary titled Angel City covering the team's first season was released on HBO in May 2023. The 2023 season saw the departure of head coach Freya Coombe on June 14 after a 2–6–3 start, with Angel City in 11th place. Assistant coach Becki Tweed became interim head coach and guided the team to a 5th-place finish, earning its first playoff berth.

In the first round of the playoffs on October 20, 2023, they lost to OL Reign. On October 30, 2023, Tweed was named permanent head coach. In July 2024, Bob Iger and Willow Bay purchased the franchise, investing $50 million to become majority shareholders; the $250 million valuation made Angel City the most valuable women's sport team in the world. In the 2024 season, the team was fined $200,000 and docked 3 points for violating the NWSL salary cap, dropping them to 12th place.

Team president Julie Uhrman and general manager Angela Hucles were suspended from player transaction duties for the rest of 2024. The team finished with 24 points in 12th place. Becki Tweed departed on December 9, 2024. In January 2025, Sam Laity was named interim head coach.

On June 1, ten games into the 2025 season, Alexander Straus became permanent head coach; the team finished 11th with 27 points. In the 2026 season, Straus was relieved on June 17 with a 4-6-1 record, succeeded by interim head coach Leif Gunnar Smerud.

Colors and crest

Angel City FC's official colors are 'asphalt' and 'armor' with 'sol rosa' as an accent color, a pink-tinted hue unique to the club. The crest, revealed on June 30, 2021, features an angel with wings inspired by the Southern California red-tailed hawk and shaped to mimic the area's palm trees; the top slopes at a 22-degree angle to represent the club's 2022 entry into the league. Designed by Amedea Tassinari, the crest and colors were developed with supporter input.

In October 2021, the club pre-emptively retired shirt number 22 to honor its founding year and the number of players on the pitch; shirts bearing the number are sold with 10 percent of revenue donated through a California Community Foundation program. The primary kit 'Dawn', unveiled November 17, 2021, is black, made of recycled materials, and features sol rosa accents, an art deco pattern, and the motto 'Volemos' above player names. The first away kit 'Daylight', used only in 2022, was white with black and sol rosa palm details designed by Matthew Wolff.

A 2023 secondary kit 'Represent' featured a print of the Los Angeles County coastline. Two 2024 kits were unveiled on February 27, 2024: the black primary 'Moonlight' with a wing texture, and an all sol rosa and pink secondary kit named 'Sol'.