In August 2019, the city of St. Louis, MO received a grant for an expansion club. This led to the formation of the St. Louis City Soccer Club, who are now the first and only club in Major League Soccer to be majorly female-owned.
As it stands after matchday three, St. Louis City SC sit atop the table with three wins from three games so far, an unprecedented run for an expansion club in its first year.
Who owns St. Louis City SC?
The team's ownership group includes Carolyn Kindle Betz, the Taylor family (owners of Enterprise Rent-A-Car), and Jim Kavanaugh (World Wide Technology CEO and co-founder).
Kindle shares ownership of the team with nine other people including her mother, uncle, aunt, and all the other grandchildren of Jack Taylor.
All of the grandchildren are girls, making the team the first female-majority-owned franchise in history.
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GettyWho is Carolyn Kindle?
Kindle is the granddaughter of Enterprise Rent-A-Car founder Jack Taylor, and serves as president of the company's foundation, the Enterprise Holdings Foundation.
Kindle’s intent was always to bring another professional sports team to St. Louis and to help the community grow as a whole.
What is the background of Carolyn Kindle?
Kindle officially began her journey when she interned for Enterprise Rent-A-Car while studying at the University of Tulsa. After graduation, she joined the organization full-time and has worked in various management roles.
In 2017, Kindle was promoted to the position of senior vice president, and in 2019, she was appointed president of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation. She has continued to lead the Foundation's board of trustees at that time, collaborating with Enterprise corporate leaders and general managers to evaluate philanthropic requests.
How rare is female ownership in soccer?
As it stands, female ownership is very rare in sports.
In Major League Soccer, as of now, there is only one female-owned club - St. Louis City, the newest entry in MLS.
As for the European soccer circuit, while there are many influential women involved in the key business side of the sport, the representation of female owners is still low. Nellie Gao, the owner of a major stake in Southampton FC, is still the only high-profile woman at the pinnacle of the sport.