Angel City FC announced on Thursday that it has signed Giesele Thompson through the 2025 season, with an option to extend the contract through 2026.
Thompson is the younger sister of Alyssa Thompson, who was drafted by Angel City last year with the No. 1 overall pick. She became the youngest player to be drafted No. 1 overall, and was a part of the USWNT’s World Cup squad this summer.
The younger Thompson inked the contract on Nov. 28, four days before her 18th birthday – and before she would have had to enter the draft. Instead, Angel City signed her through the NWSL’s U-18 entry mechanism, which requires the consent of the player and their parent or legal guardian.
Thompson told ESPN’s Charlotte Gibson that she always thought she would go to Stanford and play there for college, never imagining she’d go pro so early.
“It feels surreal,” Gisele told ESPN. “I could have never imagined going pro at this young age. … This was never even a thought in my mind that I would go pro this early, but I’m so excited.”
Gisele practiced at points over the past two seasons with the team, alongside Alyssa. In a statement, she said watching her sister go pro has helped her see that she, too, could bring a valuable piece to ACFC.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Angel City to take this next step in my soccer career,” Gisele Thompson said. “It’s such a great organization with an awesome fan base. Being from Los Angeles, I’m really looking forward to trying to bring a championship to my hometown.
“Having been able to watch Alyssa’s pro transition this past year, I’ve been able to really see what it takes to succeed at that level. I’m confident I can come in and contribute, and am also excited for all the growth and learnings ahead.”
General manager Angela Hucles Mangano called Gisele “an incredibly exciting player with endless potential.”
“The opportunity to discover and develop talent from our own backyard is really important to us, and Gisele’s success on the field in her youth career speaks for itself,” she said. ““While she will be joining her sister on our squad, Gisele will no doubt make her own impact on our environment and among the team.”
She also told ESPN that this year will count as Gisele’s first contract year, being that she signed in 2023. The option to extend keeps Gisele with the team for three years.
“Given how high Gisele would’ve been drafted [if she entered], we probably wouldn’t have gotten her with our current selections,” Hucles Mangano said. “We were very intentional and knew the player that we wanted to guarantee and fortunately, we were able to make it work.”
Gisele, who is a highly-touted senior national team prospect, has been a fixture on the U.S. youth teams, winning bronze at the Pan American Games, silver at the 2023 CONCACAF U-20 championship and gold at the U-17 championship. She also was a member of the U-17 World Cup team.
