Sky rookie Angel Reese named newest owner of DC Power FC

WNBA rookie and former college basketball star Angel Reese can now add “professional sports owner” to her resume. Reese is the newest owner of 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 Major League Soccer’s D.C. United, as well as community and business leaders from the DMV area, the club has said.

“I want to help grow women’s sports and elevate female athletes across the board,” Reese said in a statement.  “We’re taking over, and I’m honored to be able to support Power FC and invest in women’s soccer in the DMV community.”

The club did not share more details about Reese’s ownership stake in the club.

As a native of Randallstown, Maryland, Reese has deep ties to the community in the D.C. area. She hopes that, by joining Power FC, she can help establish new pathways for aspiring pro athletes, the club said. But what Reese also brings to the club as their first celebrity owner is her ability to extend DC Power’s reach beyond the DMV area, and beyond soccer.

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

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

The announcement comes on the heel of DC Power unveiling its name, logo and appointing the club’s inaugural 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 her business advisors.

“Angel’s decision to be a founding investor alongside us in Power FC is groundbreaking,” Jason Levien, D.C. United CEO and Co-Chairman, said in a statement. “As a Maryland native, Angel is so passionate about being a catalyst for positive change in women’s sports in the DMV as well as globally, while inspiring the next generation of female athletes. We’re looking forward to her partnership  in the boardroom as an equity partner.”

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

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(Photo: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)