One of the co-founders of Angel City Football Club, the American National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) outfit, is plotting a transatlantic swoop that would see her investment vehicle buying a stake in Chelsea FC’s women’s team.
Sky News has learnt that Monarch Collective, which is jointly headed by Kara Nortman, is among the parties exploring the purchase of a minority interest in the current Women’s Super League (WSL) leaders.
Monarch Collective raised a $150m fund to invest in women’s sports leagues and clubs nearly two years ago.
The firm has since invested in a women’s soccer franchise in Boston as well as San Diego Wave, which sits in 10th place in the NWSL league table.
Ms Nortman is a former venture capitalist who spent eight years at Upfront Ventures.
Monarch Collective’s talks with Chelsea executives are said to have reached a detailed stage, although people close to the club insisted there was no certainty that an agreement would be reached.
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The Blues have dropped points only once in ten games this season, and are six points clear of Manchester City, their closest challengers.
If completed, a deal involving Monarch Collective would send a powerful signal about the growing attractiveness of women’s sports assets in the UK.
Last summer, reports suggested that the Premier League would scrutinise the transfer of ownership of Chelsea’s women’s team by the club’s parent company to satisfy itself about its compliance with profitability and sustainability rules.
The club’s owners – the financiers Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali – hired merchant bankers to evaluate bringing external investment into the women’s team.
Other details, including the identities of rival suitors and the valuation at which a deal might take place, were unclear on Friday.
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