By NewsOne Staff
(Source NewsOne):
WNBA star Candace Parker is on a mission to change the narrative surrounding gender disparities in sports ownership and she’s empowering her daughter to follow suit. According to CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Sparks player and her 11-year-old daughter Lailaa Nicole Williams recently became part-owners of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City team.
The team—which is slated to officially start competing in 2022—has a star-studded ownership group comprised of influential individuals across different spaces. Among the collective of notable owners is tennis phenom Serena Williams and her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. as well as actresses Uzo Aduba, Eva Longoria, America Ferrera and Natalie Portman. “On behalf of the NWSL and our member clubs, we are thrilled to officially welcome Angel City Football Club, and this exciting and committed ownership group, to the league,” Lisa Baird, who serves as the commissioner of the NWSL, said in a statement, according to the news outlet. “The soccer community in Southern California is filled with passionate fans of the game and I can’t wait to see them rally around their own team and help us continue to grow the NWSL.”
Parker took to Instagram to share her excitement about joining the ownership group. “Lailaa and I are pumped! We are fans of @weareangelcity already!!,” she wrote in a post. “Keep dreaming and Mommy’s right here with you.” Parker, her daughter and all of the other women who are part of the Los Angeles Angel City ownership group are changing the status quo when it comes to ownership in sports. According to Grand Stand Central women account for 6.7 percent of sports franchise owners.
Several celebrities are investing in professional soccer teams. Earlier this year songstress Ciara and her husband Russell Wilson announced they were owners of the Seattle Sounders FC.
