For a state that has produced so much women’s soccer talent over the last few decades, Colorado has never had a professional women’s soccer team to call its own.
That direction changed Tuesday morning as “For Denver FC” launched a campaign to bring a top-tier women’s soccer team to the Mile High City. The group would be looking to land a highly sought-after expansion bid in the National Women’s Soccer League or the new United Soccer League’s Women’s Super League, which applied for first-division sanctioning from U.S. Soccer in May and will launch in at least five markets.
The group intends to submit a formal bid by the end of 2023, but told The Post a delay-free plan would mean kickoff as soon as spring 2026.
Denver is one of the largest markets in the country without a professional women’s sports team.
For Denver FC is led by a core group of roughly a dozen volunteers and has some financial backing already, a source told The Post. Publicly, the group is led by Jordan Angeli, a Lakewood native who played in the NWSL; Ben Hubbard, a CEO of insurer Parsyl; and Tom Dunmore of Major League Cricket, who has experience launching teams in the past with USL Championship side Indy Eleven.
A launch party is planned for July 21 at Number 38 in the River North Arts District of Denver from 6-10 p.m. when the United States Women’s National Team takes on Vietnam in its first game of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The response Angeli got on launch day more than matched the demand for a team in town.
“It’s been overwhelming in the best way,” Angeli, currently the Rapids’ lead on-air-personality for Apple TV, told The Post Tuesday afternoon. “… In my mind, twenty years ago I wanted this to happen. Speaking with some of the players I played with on national teams, they were like ‘this would be the best place to play,’ so it’s always been in the back of my mind. It doesn’t surprise me that people are supportive of it and people want it to happen, but it also reinforces why we want to do this.
“This is a jackpot of women’s soccer in the country and the fact that we haven’t tapped into it yet is crazy. … What I’ve experienced over the last few hours is just a good reminder that this is the right thing to do and we’re onto something.”
Currently there are 20 Coloradans who play in the NWSL — enough for a full match day squad and traveling roster, including four rookies who entered the league in 2023. From a national standpoint, Denver has always been a hub for the USWNT, as the team has played eight times in Colorado, seven of which have been at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City.
“I think we are pioneering our own playbook as to how a team and franchise can come together in a way that is professional and smart, but also really deeply connected with the community,” Hubbard told The Post.
Many of the state’s biggest soccer stars reacted to the news on social media, including USWNT captain Lindsey Horan of Golden.
“I’m amped, I want to get a women’s professional team to Denver,” Horan said in a video posted to Twitter. “Growing up, obviously, it would have been a really cool thing for me as a young player to watch a professional women’s team in our great state of Colorado. … I would also love to be playing on a Colorado professional team in front of my family, my friends, the fans there.”
At least six Coloradans who play in the NWSL put out Instagram stories with messages of encouragement.
“The amount of talent that comes out of Colorado is unreal,” said Thornton native Alex Loera, who plays for the Kansas City Current. “This is a no-brainer for me, let’s get this thing rollin’ @jordangeli.”
The group is looking to garner support from the City of Denver and is working on a feasibility study to build a Denver-based stadium and training facility. Angeli cited Kansas City’s new facility and stadium, which will open in 2024, as the bare minimum for any expansion group moving forward.
“The standard has been set and it’s a high bar,” Angeli said. “I love that it’s a high bar and all of us working on it like the challenge. With any launch of anything there’s gonna be obstacles, but when we’ve had one, the conversations we’ve had on the other side of things have been really good.”
Currently, the NWSL stands at 12 teams but is seeking to expand to 16 teams by 2026. A group in The Bay Area was already approved, the Utah Royals will be returning in 2024 and Boston is widely expected to be the 15th team. The Bay Area’s expansion fee was a reported $53 million, while the group intends to spend at least $125 million on its facilities and building out the team.
