Banc of California Stadium lit up during sunset as the Angel City Football Club competes against the Mexico women’s national team.
On Friday, Sept. 6, Alexa ‘26 and Elle ‘26, daughters of the the co-founders of Angel City Football Club (ACFC), led an All-School Meeting with their mothers Julie Uhrman and Kara Nortman.
Uhrman and Nortman established ACFC, a National Women’s Soccer League expansion team, alongside activist and actress Natalie Portman and technology entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian in July of 2020.
While ACFC is first and foremost a women’s football team, it’s also committed to promoting female athletes and inspiring women of all ages. ACFC hosts multiple outreach events per month in the greater Los Angeles area for various non-profit organizations. At these events, members of ACFC, as well as other LA community members, volunteer their time for the greater good.
In the presentation, Uhrman and Nortman specifically discussed the difficult work that goes into creating a successful women’s sports team. Evan ‘27 appreciated Uhrman and Nortman’s inclusivity.
“I learned how hard it is to incorporate women into sports,” Evan ’27 said. “It’s such an important thing, and I think the journey to achieve this gets looked over too much.”
The work of ACFC provides opportunities for female athletes to receive recognition they normally wouldn’t get in the male-dominated sports industry. Because the National Women’s Soccer League does not receive as much funding or recognition as men’s professional soccer leagues, ACFC uses entrepreneurship and marketing to expand their audience. As entrepreneurial work is taught in many curriculums, seeing a real-world example of successful entrepreneurship impacted students greatly.
Skylar ‘23 described Uhrman and Nortman’s view on goals.
“Uhrman and Nortman told us how you can achieve a goal, regardless of reality or expectation,” Skylar ’23 said. “I felt so inspired and motivated to use my passion to drive me toward a goal. I hope that there are more ASM speakers like the women from ACFC this coming school year.”
Uhrman has not only passed on her love for women’s sports and soccer onto her own daughter, but also the Marlborough students in ASM.
“ACFC is an environment where everyone can feel supported and see representation of themselves,” Uhrman said. “It’s not only a football club, but a community that anyone can be a part of.”
