Angel City F.C
How Hollywood star Natalie Portman founded a feminist football club
Actress Natalie Portman heads a well-known group of Angel City FC owners
© Li Ying / Picture Alliance
Angel City FC was founded by Hollywood star Natalie Portman to bring more justice to football culture around the world. At the weekend, the club made its debut in the American women’s professional league NWSL.
March 19 could be a historic day in the history of American women’s soccer. Angel City FC players stepped onto the pitch at Titan Stadium in Fullertan, California for the first time last Saturday. The club was founded by none other than Hollywood star Natalie Portman and makes its debut in the top division of North American women’s soccer this year. However, the mission is far greater than just another title for the metropolis on the Pacific coast, which is so spoiled by success. The ACFC wants to change football culture worldwide in the long term.
Natalie Portman fights for fair wages in football
Natalie Portman has never played soccer herself. However, the success of the women’s national team at the last World Cup changed her view of the sport, as she tells the Guardian: “When I watched my son idolize players like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan as much as Lionel Messi or Karim Benzema, I felt clear that empowering female athletes could quickly change the culture”.
In the same year, the Hollywood star attended a US women’s national team game and was confronted with the abuses of US professional soccer for the first time. While the men’s national team celebrates only moderate success at the world championships every four years, the US women’s team has been one of the most successful teams in the world for decades. Nevertheless, the male professionals always earned many times more than the women.
For years, stars like Megan Rapinoe fought publicly for fairer pay. A month ago, the American Football Association finally announced a partial success: In the future, at least the national players will be paid equally. The income gap from previous years was closed with a package of 24 million US dollars. 22 million will be paid out retrospectively to the players. The rest goes into a fund that supports the athletes after their active careers and promotes girls’ football.
Well-known group of owners raises millions in capital
In the meantime, there are still massive monetary differences in the professional teams of the National Women’s Soccer League. While male sports stars have usually taken care of themselves after their active careers, women often have to start all over again in the working world. This is where the newly founded football club from Los Angeles wants to start and play a pioneering role. At a conference of the “Times Up” movement, which campaigns against discrimination against women in professional life, Portman and former international Abby Wambach forged the plan to create a new club structure.
The subsequent founding story of Angel City FC reads like that of an aspiring start-up. The club is led by a majority female ownership group. Over the past few months, this million dollar fundraiser has sold nearly 16,000 season tickets. In addition to Portman, other prominent names also support the club financially, including Serena Williams, Billie Jean King, Rachel Zoe, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Garner and Christina Aguilera. Also among the group are retired soccer stars Julie Foudy, Shannon McMillan and Rachel Van Hollebeke. “Our dream is to give women’s football the same value as men’s football around the world,” Natalie Portman told the Guardian.
Association supports social project
In addition to its commitment to fair pay for women, the association supports various social projects. In the past year, seven gardens have been funded at public schools in the region, sports bras have been donated to young soccer players and thousands of meals have been delivered to socially disadvantaged families. Money is donated to a mental health foundation for every goal, save and clean sheet. In addition, the ACFC has committed to giving ten percent of its sponsorship income to the local community. So far, 35 million US dollars have already been flushed into the coffers from advertising contracts.
Despite all these achievements for the common good, many opponents will probably look at the new league member with distrust. Both the sponsors and the new signings before the season were too glamorous and well-known. In addition to the two-time world champion Christen Press, other well-known star players such as Sarah Gorden and DiDi Haracic have also signed with Los Angeles. However, the ACFC were held to a 1-1 draw by San Diego Wave FC on Saturday. For the fans in the stadium and for American women’s football as a whole, the debut could nevertheless represent the beginning of a fairer future.
Swell:Guardians, Los Angeles Times, NWSL