In the Summer of 2020, two pieces of football industry news raised eyebrows, one each side of the Atlantic.
The first was the announcement on 21 July of the formation of a new franchise in the NWSL, the first women's professional soccer team in the Los Angeles area since the LA Sol of Women's Professional Soccer folded in 2010, to be named Angel City FC. The second, at the end of September, was leaked news of a takeover of the world’s third-oldest football club, Wrexham AFC of the National League, the fifth tier of English football.
The common denominator of these two pieces of news? Both involved Hollywood royalty. The Angel City project is spearheaded by Academy Award winning actor Natalie Portman, alongside other celebrity investors, while non-league Wrexham was bought from its supporters by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.