Chelsea Clinton, Jenna Bush Hager among Spirit’s new investors originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Forty-three new investors including Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush Hager have joined the Washington Spirit’s ownership group, the D.C.-based National Women’s Soccer League franchise announced Wednesday.
Majority owner Steve Baldwin will retain his stake in the club, but now has a star-studded supporting cast that he hopes will boost the overall profile of the team and women’s soccer as a whole.
“It is fitting that the Washington Spirit have an investor group commensurate with the dynamism and diversity of DC and its place as the most powerful city in the world,” Baldwin said in a statement. “As the 2021 season rapidly approaches, our fans will learn more about how this group came together, hear directly from new investors on their excitement to join us, and our plans for the future.”
Among the other names joining the club are Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominique Dawes, two-time gold medal-winning USWNT goalkeeper Briana Scurry, former Turner Sports COO Matt Hong and former U.S. ambassador to Finland Bonnie McElveen-Hunter. The announcement follows the lead of Angel City FC and the North Carolina Courage, which both added celebrity investors over the past year.
Clinton, the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Bush Hager, daughter of George W. and Laura Bush, are close friends who bonded over being raised by U.S. presidents. Clinton is a board member of the Clinton Foundation— the family’s charity — while Bush Hager is co-host of Hoda & Jenna on the TODAY show.
The Spirit have had an eventful offseason, signing Swedish midfielder Julia Roddar, trading for a pair of U.S. national team defenders in Kelley O’Hara and Emily Sonnett, and drafting rising star Trinity Rodman No. 2 overall in the NWSL draft.
After the NWSL regular season was canceled in 2020, the Spirit will go into the 2021 campaign with a slew of new faces both on and off the field.
