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          Angel City FC adds Gabrielle Union, daughter, Christina Aguilera to star-studded ownership group

          • Caitlin Murray, ESPNFeb 16, 2022, 06:18 PM
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              Caitlin Murray is a general editor for ESPN.com. She has reported on and written about soccer for The New York Times, The Guardian, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, the Associated Press, and others.

              She authored a book about the history of the U.S. women's national team called "The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women Who Changed Soccer," which made "best of" lists in Vanity Fair, The Financial Times, NPR and The Los Angeles Times. On Twitter and Instagram, she's @caitlinmurr.
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          Angel City FC, the expansion team set to debut in the National Women's Soccer League this year, has added a few more celebrities to its star-studded ownership group -- including the 3-year-old daughter of former NBA star Dwyane Wade and actress Gabrielle Union.

          Union and her daughter, Kaavia James Union Wade, have backed Angel City as investors in its latest funding round, the club announced Wednesday. Kaavia James, who is called a "3-year-old influencer" in Angel City's news release, has nearly 2 million followers on Instagram.

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          Previously, a group of 19-year-olds who own a semi-professional club in Surrey, England, was considered the youngest club owners in the sport, but it appears their record has been beaten.

          Angel City was announced in 2020 as an NWSL expansion team set to play at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, and the club signed U.S. women's national team star Christen Press as its first player. Freya Coombe of England will be the club's first head coach, and former English national team forward Eniola Aluko is the sporting director.

          Also joining Angel City's ownership group as of Wednesday are singer Christina Aguilera, Olympic gold-winning gymnast Shawn Johnson East, and author and former monk Jay Shetty. Fashion designer Rachel Zoe has joined through her investment firm, Rachel Zoe Ventures.

          The eclectic mix of backers adds to what is already a very large ownership group headlined by actresses Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner and Eva Longoria, plus USWNT great Mia Hamm and tennis star Serena Williams. In the Wednesday announcement alone, Angel City added 49 investors, many with business and finance backgrounds.

          "Each of our new investors are committed to supporting our purpose to set higher expectations on and off the pitch through the impact we are making in the community and on the women's game," said Angel City founder and president Julie Uhrman.

          "This group joins our incredibly active and passionate roster of founding investors, and we couldn't be more excited that they are part of the Angel City family."

          ESPN analyst and columnist Julie Foudy is a part owner of Angel City.