“I never dreamed of owning a professional sports team,” confessed Natalie Portman, an Oscar-winning actress and the co-founder of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team Angel City. However, her perspective shifted when she witnessed one of her sons holding female soccer players in the same high regard as their male counterparts, displaying equal ‘admiration and fandom.’
With a passionate dedication to the cause, Israeli-American Portman, along with other co-owners and staff of Angel City, currently finds herself in Australia for the ongoing Women’s World Cup. Speaking at the Angel City Equity Summit hosted at the iconic Sydney Opera House, Portman shared her insight, stating, “This is culture change. If our boys look up to women like that, that’s how everything changes.”
She continued, “What got me really excited was the female players being icons and heroes. Their leadership, both on and off the field during the 2019 World-Cup was truly inspiring. And seeing, of course, my child react in that way only solidified the significance of this movement.”
The summit brought together luminaries of the women’s game, including retired U.S. soccer legends Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm, as well as FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura.
At 42 years old, Portman has formed a diverse Angel City ownership group that boasts some of the world’s top athletes and Hollywood stars. Despite their eighth-place finish in the inaugural 2022 season, the team attracted a league-leading average of 19,105 fans per game.
Reflecting on her unexpected journey into soccer, Portman humbly said, “I could barely walk across the street without tripping, so this is definitely an unusual, unexpected turn of events in my life – my love for soccer.”
Early in her venture, Portman enlisted the support of co-founder Kara Nortman, a technology venture capitalist and acquaintance from the “Time’s Up” movement against sexual harassment in Hollywood. Nortman expressed, “It was the fact that it was Natalie Portman, you know, queen of Star Wars, first female Thor, and I thought, well, if Natalie thinks it’s possible, maybe it’s possible.”
Angel City’s mission involves allocating 1% of ticket sales to the players, who, in return, contribute to driving sales on their social media platforms. Additionally, 10% of the team’s sponsorship funds are directed towards local community partnerships. The club has already managed to sell nearly 16,000 season tickets.
Portman’s motivation also stems from her discovery of theatre as a tool for combatting injustice in Harare, Zimbabwe. “When groups have limited resources to overcome injustice, they turn to theatre,” she explained. “And I thought, what’s more, theatrical than gathering this remarkable group of influential women with these incredible players at the forefront? That’s how you accelerate change – through theatre.”
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