The Angel City FC it's how you build a club in 2021

“My favourite part is that we are making things in a different way”, said one of the 60 founders of the first Los Angeles women's soccer team: Angel City FC. Just the fact that the announcement of the founding was released through the US Federation, not a standard procedure, explains the uniqueness of this new club. Eventually this is still L.A.

Yesterday the club, which has in boarding celebrities in the likes of Natalie Portman, Serena Williams and Eva Longoria, unveils its new jersey. The first overall, because the team had never set foot on the pitch and will be on the starting blocks for the next season. But in the meantime has started working on its brand awareness thanks to many community based events and very carefully planned merchandising drops. 

For the jersey they adopt a classic profile, with a black backdrop to highlight the pink details among the team’s crest, the sponsor logo and the “geometric sunrise” pattern in art decò fashion. The team’s mantra, “Volemos,” is on the back under the collar and underline the connection with the Latinos L.A.’s community. The kit supplier is Nike, which has just some days ago renewed its deal with the US Soccer Federation and it’s always attentive towards women soccer, while the main sponsor will be the food delivery DoorDash and the secondary Birdies, a women founded footwear brand, and Sprouts, a healthy food farmer’s market. Nothing is left unnoticed and the clubs made clear they will give back to the community almost two million dollars, 10% of sponsor's money.

The jersey will be available from February 2022 but it’s already at the center of a well orchestrated social campaign that blends together celebrities and communities of Los Angeles. A necessity to make believable a team built from scratch with a top-down operation like all sport franchises in the US, but during a climate when every action is to be carefully weighted.

Scrolling down the Instagram profile is clear that the team is almost an afterthought besides all the projects and collateral events in talks, art shows and solidarity initiatives all in the L.A. community. And the commitment to became the reference point for women’s sport, supporting all the athletes following the keywords equity, inclusivity and female empowerment. 

Everything carefully studied and measured out, like a Hollywood screenplay, for not falling in the many traps that can end a project just like that. Recently we have seen, last examples the Phoenix Suns in the NBA and the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL, how in the US it’s very easy to create a scandal and the following backlash. Missteps Angel City has not made until now, becoming a test tube trial for how to build a sports society in this historic time. After all what screams more zeitgeist than a women’s soccer team founded by a group of movie stars?