The NWSL is becoming a bigger investment, with team valuations skyrocketing over the last few years.

When the Washington Spirit were bought in February by an investment group led by Michele Kang, the club was valued at $35 million. Gotham FC was valued at a $40 million this year, as Sportico reported, with investments from the likes of Kevin Durant, Sue Bird and Eli Manning.

Angel City FC, though, stands at the front of the pack. The expansion franchise raised money in April 2021 at a valuation of more than $100 million, Sportico reported Friday – more than double that of the next closest known NWSL franchise and an NWSL record.

Angel City features a stacked roster of celebrity owners, among them Serena Williams and several former USWNT stars including Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach. Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria and Jennifer Garner are also among the owners, while Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is the club’s lead investor.

In total, the club boasts nearly 100 owners.

Part of what goes into the valuation is how the club has acquired and prioritized sponsorship dollars. Angel City’s deals include an eight-figure deal with DoorDash, as well as partnerships with Gatorade and Heineken. There’s also a partnership with Johnnie Walker, which included the first-ever NWSL team anthem.

According to club co-founder and president Julie Uhrman, in total Angel City reportedly claimed $35 million in booked sponsorship revenue – some possibly multi-year deals and 10 percent of which is being redirected back into the community.

“I would say that Angel City has more sponsorship revenue today than two hands worth of men’s professional sports teams,” Uhrman said at a Sportico event in March. “We believe our kit is the highest grossing of any women’s team in the U.S.”

Additionally, the club sold more than 16,000 season tickets prior to the start of the season. A total of 22,000 fans showed up in the team’s first regular season game, helping to shatter the league’s average attendance record for opening weekend.

With an average of approximately 19,000 fans per game, Angel City has the highest attendance in the NWSL this season. The club is also outdrawing 14 MLS clubs and has more followers on Instagram than 19 MLS franchises.

Valuations in the NWSL stand to increase as time goes on. Broadcast deals with CBS and Amazon’s Twitch are expiring in the next few years and with increasing viewership, the NWSL should be looking for bigger and better deals.

As the league aims to expand by two new teams by 2024, the valuations appear to also be resetting that bar as well. For the first time, there will be a formal bidding process, with Sportico reporting that sources around the league feel as though the new valuations will land in the same range as the Spirit and Gotham.

Just days after Spain rose to world No. 1 in the most recent FIFA rankings, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Monday that head coach Montse Tomé will not see her contract renewed when it expires at the end of August.

"The Board of Directors of the Royal Spanish Football Federation would like to express its gratitude for Montse Tomé's work, professionalism, and dedication in her various roles during her time as a member of the national teams at the RFEF, particularly during her time as senior national team coach," the governing body said in a statement.

Tomé — Spain's first-ever women head coach — took over La Roja in September 2023 following the removal of former manager Jorge Vilda, with both Vilda and then-federation boss Luis Rubiales exiting amid a highly public toxicity scandal.

During her almost two-year tenure at the helm, the 43-year-old led her former national team to the 2024 UEFA Nations League title, but fell short at both the 2024 Olympics and the 2025 Euro.

Expected to win both major tournament titles, Spain exited the 2024 Paris Games in a semifinal upset to Brazil before finishing last month's European Championship as runners-up to repeat champions England.

While critics questioned some of her sideline decisions in those losses, Tomé also reportedly failed to fully earn the respect of the Spain locker room during her tenure — a hurdle that some contend was due in part to her prior role as Vilda's assistant.

The RFEF has tapped their U-23 manager, Sonia Bermúdez, to succeed Tomé.

Prior to her managerial career in Spain's youth program, the 40-year-old former national team captain and attacker scored 34 goals in her 61 appearances for La Roja.

Aiming to make a significant splash in their debut season in the top-flight WSL, the newly promoted London City Lionesses are gearing up by trying to bolster their roster with big names — including the club's newest target, Arsenal forward Beth Mead.

According to reports, London City owner Michele Kang has reportedly made a formal offer to acquire the longtime Arsenal star, who has suited up for the Gunners for the last eight years.

In her 225 appearances for the club, Mead has scored 78 goals en route to snagging Arsenal the 2018/19 WSL championship as well as a trio of League Cups.

Most recently, the 30-year-old attacker helped the Gunners shockingly upend powerhouse Barcelona to claim the 2024/25 Champions League crown — the WSL's first UWCL title in 18 years.

The WSL's all-time assists leader added another international trophy to her case just last month, as the England national booked a second straight Euro title to go along with her Golden Boot-winning tournament in 2022.

Regardless of the outcome, London City's offer makes a serious statement as the Lionesses ascend the ranks of women's football behind Kang's growing multi-team empire.

London City has already picked up players like Swedish legend Kosovare Asllani, Dutch midfielder Daniëlle Van de Donk, and former Manchester United forward Nikita Parris, signaling the Lionesses' intentions to keep rising ahead of their inaugural 2025/26 WSL campaign.

Fresh off her 2025 Euro win, England star goalkeeper Hannah Hampton revealed her penalty shootout secret that helped lift the Lionesses over Spain in last month's tournament final.

After Hampton spotted Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll's tactical notes written on her water bottle, she quietly picked it up and tossed it into the crowd.

"The Spanish keeper had it on her bottle," Hampton told England radio station talkSPORT on Friday. "So I thought when she was going in goal, I'll just pick it up and throw it into the English fans so she can't have it."

Hampton kept her own Euro penalty shootout notes wrapped around her forearm, explaining that "I never put it on a bottle because anyone can [throw it away]."

The 24-year-old's method proved useful in saving shots from Spanish stars Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey, ultimately setting up teammate Chloe Kelly to bury the title-winning penalty.

"I was trying so hard not to burst out laughing [because] I was like 'Oh, I don't know where [Coll's water bottled] has gone,'" Hampton recalled. "But you have got to do something, haven't you?"

As for Coll, the Spanish keeper seemed to refute Hampton's story, posting two laughing emojis in response to the radio clip, as well as saying "Okay, okay, calm down. If only it were true..."

The injury woes continued for the No. 5 Indiana Fever last week, with guards Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald both going down with season-ending injuries in Thursday's 95-60 blowout loss to the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.

While 36-year-old veteran Colson tore her left ACL in the first quarter of the matchup, midseason signee McDonald broke her foot in the fourth quarter — leaving Indiana with just nine available players for Saturday's 92-70 win over the No. 11 Chicago Sky.

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With star Caitlin Clark still recovering from a groin injury, Thursday saw the Fever's point guard stock dwindle even further — especially as the team initially signed McDonald to a rest-of-season contract in late June to specifically address Clark's absence and help lighten the load.

"This is the most resilient team I've ever been a part of, and I say that wholeheartedly," Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell told reporters following her game-leading 26-point performance on Saturday. "We've had a lot of mishap happen throughout the course of the season...and we've stayed resilient."

With Colson and McDonald out for 2025 and Clark's recovery timeline still uncertain, Indiana's ongoing struggle to patch together a full, healthy roster saw the Fever sign veteran guard Odyssey Sims to a hardship contract on Sunday.

How to watch the Indiana Fever this week

The No. 5 Fever will put their newest lineup to the test on Tuesday, when Indiana will host the No. 12 Dallas Wings at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.