January 21 – Kara Nortman, co-founder of the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Angel City FC, is reportedly considering a move across the Atlantic to invest in reigning English champions Chelsea Women.
Through her Monarch Collective investment platform, Nortman is said to be exploring the purchase of a minority stake in the Women’s Super League (WSL) club.
Discussions between Nortman’s group and Chelsea are believed to have reached an advanced stage, although no agreement has yet been finalised. Should a deal materialise, it would mark another bold step in the growing relationship between elite women’s football and private investment.
Chelsea Women have been courting external investors since mid-2024, following their restructuring under the BlueCo holding company. That transition, designed to give the women’s team equal standing with their male counterparts, established Chelsea Women as a standalone entity, complete with a dedicated chief executive, Aki Mandhar, and a strategic growth plan.
Chelsea have said nothing publicly about the process since last May, when they issued a statement saying: “In advance of next season, Chelsea Women will be repositioned so that it sits alongside, rather than beneath, the men’s team in a move that heralds a new era for the club.
“Chelsea Women will therefore have dedicated resources, management and commercial leadership, which will be focused solely on the growth and success of the women’s team.
“This new approach will enable Chelsea Women to harness the full potential of the opportunity for women’s football, amplifying our commitment to excellence both on and off the pitch.
“Currently, any prospective investor into a WSL team is required to invest through a men’s team.
“Having analysed the market and discussed with investors, there is a strong desire for an opportunity to invest solely into the women’s game to specifically support women’s football and benefit from the growth in the women’s game.”
The London club’s current valuation is reportedly in excess of £150million—evidence of the rising commercial appeal of women’s football.
Nortman’s Monarch Collective, which raised $150million in 2023 to invest in women’s sport, has already backed the NWSL’s Boston expansion team and the San Diego Wave.
If the move goes ahead, it could signal an intriguing transatlantic partnership and a significant milestone in the development of women’s football.
Nortman, whose Angel City co-ownership included high-profile figures like Natalie Portman and Alexis Ohanian, is no stranger to innovation in the sport. For Chelsea Women, bringing in an ambitious investor like Nortman could be the perfect catalyst for their next chapter.
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