Meet Julie Uhrman, president and co-founder of Angel City Football Club
The team slogan for the Angel City Football Club is "We are Angel City" and no one else embodies that more than president and co-founder, Julie Uhrman.
Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League team that began playing in the 2022 season. The team is based in Los Angeles and was formed in 2020.
KCAL anchor Jamie Yuccas sat down with the mother of two, whose 100 investors include everyone from sports great Billie Jean King to actress Jennifer Garner to find out how she keeps Angel City running smoothly.
Julie Uhrman, who is a native to Los Angeles, walks through the halls of Angel City headquarters in Santa Monica.
What does it mean to be "Angel City?"
Uhrman: "It means community, means impact, means winning, it means being reflective of the community - it means being led by women."
Angel City was built with three female co-founders including, academy award winning actress Natalie Portman and technology venture capitalist Kara Norman.
Angel City FC is now the most valuable national women's soccer league franchise worth $180 million, according to Sportico. That's double that of the San Diego Wave FC.
"For us it is about telling our story and building awareness for Angel City and how we built this club differently focused on mission and capitol. How we give back and include the community. That's how we judge success and what we wake up every day doing," said Uhrman.
Uhrman believes the timing is right to keep the momentum going, not just for Angel City, but for soccer as a whole. The world recently united around watching women compete in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
What do you think it is about women's soccer that has drawn a large audience so quickly?
Uhrman: "I think it's two things: One it is a global sport, not just American sport. Second, we have the best players in the world who consistently win and people want a champion and support winners, which makes us the best in the world. That's why I think it has the attention and support."
Uhrman always had a passion for competition. She played college basketball while earning her business degree at Washington University. Then, she entered the world of video games where she helped build an Android based controller.
"There's so much that you learn in sports that help you in your professional life and I feel it's hard to be an entrepreneur and not be an athlete to begin with," said Julie Uhrman.
She continued to say, "when you are a part of a team it is about being a leader, being a team, taking on defeat along with victory together and learning how to overcome those obstacles," said Uhrman.
One of the main reasons why she is so passionate about Angel City is the learning benefits you gain by being a part of a team and she wants to make sure children continue to play sports and not aging out if them.
Uhrman's daughter, Elle, plays volleyball, while Angel City inspired her son, Charlie to try soccer.
"At some point, we want the world to look at sports without a gender filter," said Uhrman. "It is just incredible teams competition
How do you balance being a mom in this profession?
Uhrman: " I don't. I think balance isn't real. I've spent a lot of time trying to focus on being present and doing things together and including them in what I do."
She also explains that her tattoo "volemos" on her arm is fake.
Volemos means "let's fly" and it has been the team slogan for the past several years. Uhrman says she will make it permanent they win a championship.
