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ESPN- 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.
Los Angeles' newest club, Angel City FC, hasn't even started playing yet, but it's already setting a new bar for the National Women's Soccer League with a star-studded launch for its inaugural slick black-and-patterned kit. Hollywood superstars and team investors Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner and Eva Longoria lead the roster of big names showing off the debut look for Angel City, which will begin play next season.
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The jersey is primarily black with vertical rows of geometric fan-shaped patterns that are an homage to the zig-zags found on the official flag of the City of Los Angeles, while also aptly symbolising "the first light on a dark horizon and the start of a new day."
✨ HERE IT IS ✨
— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) November 17, 2021
The first look at our inaugural jersey! Check it out from every angle. We can't wait to see YOU wearing it in 2022!
Find out more → https://t.co/Ic88za9bBn pic.twitter.com/2bm8i9HuTf
It wouldn't be a proper kit launch without the inclusion of some made-up colors either, so Angel City has revealed its two subtle-but-unique custom shades, "Sol Rosa" and "Armor."
The first professional women's soccer team to be based in L.A. for over a decade, Angel City were founded in 2020 and boast a majority female ownership group, with Portman, Garner and Longoria joined by other celebrity backers including actor Jessica Chastain, tennis superstars Serena Williams and Billie Jean King, and several former USWNT players such as Julie Foudy, Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm.
While the Angel City owners' box is rather full, the team's on-field roster is still taking shape. USWNT striker Christen Press became the first player, announced in August, to join the expansion team for its debut season.
In addition to the custom colorway, as a further touch the club's motto in both Spanish and English -- "Volemos," and "Let's Fly" -- is embossed across the back of the collar, as a club press release puts it, "as a reminder to always keep flying to greater heights."
That may sound like a lofty aspiration for an expansion team -- such teams usually stumble out the gate -- but Angel City is already establishing itself as a leader in the NWSL off the field. Last month, the club announced a revenue-sharing agreement to bolster the relatively low salaries in the NWSL: 1% of net ticket revenue from all regular-season home games will be divided equally among Angel City players at the end of the 2022. (This season, the minimum NWSL player salary is just $21,000. The maximum salary is $52,500 for players not earning so-called allocation money, a special payment mechanism that only some players are eligible for.)
And as part of their kit sponsorship model, Angel City has vowed to donate almost $2 million with their jersey partners to local community programs and charities over the next few years. Not bad for a club that has yet to play a single game.
The corresponding first ever 2022 Angel City FC away kit is set to be released in the none-too-distant future. Stay tuned for details.