Natalie Portman says "theatre" of soccer perfect venue to fight for
gender equity
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[August 04, 2023]
By Lori Ewing
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Natalie Portman said she never dreamed of owning
a professional sports team, but that changed when the Oscar-winning
actress noticed the way one of her sons viewed female soccer players
with the same "admiration and fandom" as male players.
Israeli-American Portman is the co-founder of National Women's
Soccer League (NWSL) team Angel City and is in Australia for the
ongoing Women's World Cup along with many of the club's co-owners
and staff.
"I was like this is culture change. This is it. If our boys look up
to women like that, that's how everything changes," Portman said at
Friday's Angel City Equity Summit at the Sydney Opera House.
"That's what got me really excited. And it was really the female
players being such icons and heroes... I think their leadership, on
and off the field in the (2019) World Cup really was the inspiration
for me and seeing Of course, my child react in that way."
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The summit featured some of the biggest names in the women's game
including retired U.S. greats Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm and FIFA
Secretary General Fatma Samoura.
The 42-year-old Portman assembled an Angel City ownership group that
includes some of the world's best athletes and Hollywood stars. The
team finished eighth in their inaugural 2022 season, but averaged a
league-leading 19,105 fans.
"I could like barely walk across the street without tripping, so
this is definitely an unusual, unexpected turn of events in my life
- my love for (soccer)," Portman said.
One of the first people the actress reached out to for help was
co-founder Kara Nortman, a technology venture capitalist she had met
during the "Time's Up" movement against sexual harassment in
Hollywood.
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![](../images/080423PIX/sports75.jpg)
The 76th Cannes Film Festival -
Photocall for the film "May December" in competition - Cannes,
France, May 21, 2023. Cast member Natalie Portman poses.
REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo
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"It was the fact that it was Natalie Portman, you
know, queen of Star Wars, first female Thor, and I thought, well, if
Natalie thinks it's possible, maybe it's possible," Nortman said.
Part of Angel City's mandate is to put 1% of ticket sales back in
their players' pockets. Players in turn help drive sales on their
social media platforms. The club has already sold almost 16,000
season tickets.
Also 10% of Angel City's sponsorship money goes to the local
community partnerships.
Portman said she was also inspired after reading about theatre as a
way of fighting injustice in Harare, Zimbabwe.
"When groups have not many resources to try and overcome injustice,
they create theatre," she said. "And I was like, I know theatre, and
what's the most theatrical thing we can do to go for gender equity
than to have this incredible large group of influential women
together, making a spectacle with these incredible players at the
forefront?
"It just felt like that's how you accelerate change is theatre."
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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