Athletes Supporting Athletes: Investors in the NWSL
Increasing the visibility of women’s soccer can only happen through increasing advocacy, resources, and financial support of the sport. Luckily, many teams in the NWSL have support from a variety of high-profile figures, but perhaps most notably, from other athletes. Take a look below to see which non-soccer athletes are investors in the NWSL.
Serena Williams
The world renowned tennis star Serena Williams is a notable investor in Los Angeles’s team, Angel City FC. Their family is committed to the sport, as Williams’s husband, Alexis Ohanian, is the team’s largest shareholder. In addition to their financial support and leadership of the organization, their family often supports ACFC games from the sidelines.
Kevin Durant and Eli Manning
NBA star Kevin Durant, currently of the Phoenix Suns, and former football quarterback Eli Manning, of the New York Giants, are both investors in Gotham FC. “I have lived and worked in this community for almost two decades,” said Manning in a Gotham FC press release. “It’s home to me, and Gotham FC is my family’s favorite soccer club. Combine that with the organization’s strong leadership, talented roster, and sustained growth, and it became clear that joining this great group was a fantastic opportunity.”
James Harden
Houston Rockets player James Harden chose to pour his time and resources into the Houston community by investing in the Houston Dash, in addition to the Houston Dynamo. “I’ve been a fan of the game for several years, and I know that Houston has a massive soccer fanbase, so it was an easy decision for me when this opportunity arose,” said Harden in the announcement.
Patrick Mahomes
When you think of Kansas City sports, you think of Patrick Mahomes. In 2023, Mahomes became the first current and active NFL player to have equity in a NWSL team. Mahomes’s wife, Brittany Mahomes, a former professional soccer player who played for UMF Afturelding, is also a KC Current investor. The Mahomes Family cheered on the Current in their first game of the 2024 season in their newly built stadium, the first of its kind built for women’s sports.
Naomi Osaka and Ons Jabeur
Tennis champion and US Open Winner Naomi Osaka, one of the highest paid female athletes in the world, became an investor of the North Carolina Courage in 2021. “Throughout my career I’ve always received so much love from my fellow female athletes, so that’s why I am proud to share that I am now an owner of the NC Courage,” Osaka said in a press release. Osaka is not the only tennis name to support the Courage. Tunisian professional tennis player Ons Jabeur is also an investor in the team. She and Osaka are the first two tennis players to invest in a NWSL team.
Dominique Dawes
Olympian gymnast Dominique Dawes became an investor in the Washington Spirit in 2021. “I’ve been doing it for over 25 years – empowering and educating – and so to have another platform to do that as now a business owner with a professional women’s sports team is exciting and as a mom of four kids – three of them girls – I want them to be soccer players,” said Dawes in an interview with My MCM.
Featured image via Getty Images
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