Sports

Sky rookie Angel Reese named newest owner of DC Power Football Club

WNBA rookie and former college basketball star Angel Reese can now add “professional sports owner” to her resume. Reese is the new owner of the DC Power Football Club, the new Washington, D.C.-based professional women’s soccer team that will begin play in the USL Super League this summer, the team announced Tuesday.

The team’s current ownership group also includes DC United of Major League Soccer, as well as community and business leaders from the DMV area, the club said.

“I want to help grow women’s sports and elevate female athletes at all levels,” Reese said in a statement. “We are taking over and I am honored to be able to support Power FC and invest in women’s soccer within the DMV community.”

The club did not share further details about Reese’s involvement with the club.

Originally from Randallstown, Maryland, Reese has deep ties to the Washington, DC area community. She hopes that by joining Power FC, she can help establish new pathways for aspiring professional athletes, the club said. But what Reese also brings to the club as its first celebrity owner is her ability to expand DC Power’s reach beyond the DMV area and beyond soccer.

“I am invested in football. A lot of my friends also play soccer, so I’m very excited about this partnership,” Reese said. “And a lot of young black women don’t have those opportunities.” And just being able to leave my impact and create this new thing and make it a thing now, like women in charge, being able to do these things is something that’s really important right now.

Reese is one of the star members of the WNBA rookie class and is just weeks into her professional career with the Chicago Sky. As attention to women’s basketball continues to grow, Reese entered the league as an already established force in the sports business landscape, with major partnerships with brands like Reebok, Beats and Tampax.

“I’m still 22 and trying to figure everything out,” Reese said. “I just expect to do everything I can, to help this organization as much as I can. I know a lot more women are going to start owning more things, and I hope one day I can own my own team. This is what I’m looking forward to. I also want to own a WNBA team.

Reese became a household name in 2023, after winning the NCAA Division I National Championship with the LSU Lady Tigers. She quickly rose to fame as one of the highest-paid college athletes, and many know Reese as “Bayou Barbie.”

The announcement follows DC Power’s unveiling of its name, logo and the appointment of the club’s first president, Jordan Stuart, and head coach, Frédéric Brillant, a former United player who was in his first season as assistant coach for the NWSL’s Utah Royals.

The club said Reese first connected with DC Power through its business advisors.

“Angel’s decision to be a founding investor alongside us in Power FC is groundbreaking,” Jason Levien, CEO and co-chairman of DC United, said in a statement. “As a Maryland native, Angel is very passionate about being a catalyst for positive change in women’s sports within the DMV as well as globally, while inspiring the next generation of female athletes . We look forward to his partnership in the boardroom as an equity partner.

The USL Super League begins play in August. DC Power will play at Audi Field, sharing the stadium with DC United and the Washington Spirit of the NWSL.

Required reading

(Photo: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)

News Source : www.nytimes.com
Gn sports

Back to top button