Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, and more than a dozen women's soccer icons are part of a star-studded ownership group for NWSL expansion team in LA

• The National Women's Soccer League — the top women's soccer league in the world — will add its 11th franchise in Los Angeles, the league announced Tuesday.
• The team's ownership group features a star-studded cast including Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian, Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria, Lilly Singh, and more than a dozen US Women's National Team icons.
• "Angel City" — as the team has already been dubbed — will begin its run in the NWSL in the spring of 2022.

Women's soccer is coming to Southern California, and as with all things Los Angeles, there's no shortage of star power involved.

The National Women's Soccer League — the top women's soccer league in the world — announced Tuesday that it will add its 11th franchise in the City of Angels.

"The growth trajectory of the NWSL is incredibly exciting, but we also need to be strategic and thoughtful about how fast we expand and the communities we partner with," NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird said via the league's release. "We've long sought the right partner in LA considering the NWSL fanbase that already exists in the region and the massive interest in women's soccer in general. Those factors, along with an incredible ownership group make this an ideal situation and we couldn't be more thrilled to move forward."

Though rumors of a Los Angeles-based NWSL club had long been circulating in the women's soccer sphere, the sheer number of big names involved in the team's ownership group came as a shock to nearly everyone.

Angel City, as the team has been dubbed, was founded by a majority-woman group including actresses Natalie Portman, Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, and Eva Longoria. Tennis icon Serena Williams and tech guru Alex Ohanian joined the ranks along with their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr.

Talk show host Lilly Singh and a slew of big-name entrepreneurs — including Kara Nortman, Julie Uhrman, Casey Neistat, and more — also invested in the club alongside more than a dozen former US Women's National Team stars like Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Abby Wambach, Angela Hucles, and Lauren Cheney Holiday.

"Today we take an exciting step by announcing the first women majority-owned and led ownership group," Portman said in the NWSL's release. "I am thrilled by the opportunity to partner with this incredible group of people to bring a professional women's soccer team to Los Angeles. Together, we aim to build not only a winning team on the field, but also to develop a passionately loyal fan base. We also hope to make a substantive impact on our community, committing to extending access to sports for young people in Los Angeles through our relationship with the LA84 Foundation."

"Sports are such a joyful way to bring people together, and this has the power to make tangible change for female athletes both in our community and in the professional sphere," the Academy Award winner added.

The full roster of stakeholders for the newly-minted NWSL club is as follows:

Angel City will begin its run in the NWSL in the spring of 2022. The league currently boasts nine clubs but recently announced that it would add a Louisville-based franchise next year.

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