On January 30, 2025 the NWSL announced its newest add-on would be Denver, Colorado. This will be the 16th establishment in the league since it was founded in 2012 and fans can’t wait. It’s no secret that Colorado has produced some of the finest players in USWNT history such as Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan (now Heaps), Sophia Smith (now Wilson) and Jaelin Howell.
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is the women’s professional soccer league in the United States featuring national team players and others from around the globe. The clubs currently are Angel City FC, Bay FC, Chicago Stars FC, Houston Dash, Kansas City Current, NJ/NY Gotham FC, North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Portland Thorns FC, Racing Louisville FC, San Diego Wave FC, Seattle Reign FC, Utah Royals FC, and Washington Spirit, who have all had impressive and game changing players pass through in their carriers.
The incoming team has a potent ownership group that includes local and national investors. This includes but is not limited to Rob Cohen, Project Level, a subsidiary of Ariel Investments led by Chairwoman Mellody Hobson and former Washington Commanders President Jason Wright, FirstTracks Sports Ventures LLC (FTSV), led by siblings Jon-Erik Borgen and Kaia Borgen Moritz, Neelima Joshi and Dhiren Jhaveri and Molly Coors.
Rob Cohen is set to serve as the club’s controlling owner and governor with Hobson as Denver NWSL’s Alternate Governor. Denver is the second franchise awarded by the NWSL during this round of expansion, following team number 15 in Boston making their debut in the 2024 season, bringing the league from 14 to 16 clubs.
Denver will also become the first women’s professional sports team in a major national league to call the Mile High City home. The new Denver NWSL franchise is finalizing plans for a purpose-built stadium for professional women’s soccer and a dedicated, performance facility for female athletes. More information will be available as these plans are finalized resulting in the team name, crest, colors and brand identity also being announced at a later date.
As a bit of background, Rob Cohen has been a mainstay in the Denver sports scene for the past 30 years, working to bring Denver up to the international stage. In 2001, he founded the Denver Sports Commission, whose mission is to proactively identify, pursue, and attract regional, national, and international amateur and professional athletic competitions and events to Denver. This commission has helped bring notable events such as the All-Star Games of MLB, NBA, NHL, Women’s Final Four, and Hockey Frozen Four to the greater Denver area. Cohen is also a founding member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation (USOPF) and the Chair of the Games Hospitality Committee. He most recently was on the Salt Lake City Bid committee, which was awarded the Winter Olympic Games for 2034. Cohen was also appointed by Congress to the Commission on the State of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympic movement.
In his own words, Cohen says, “Denver is one of the best sports cities in the United States and we are thrilled to bring professional women’s soccer to Colorado, we believe that bringing NWSL to Denver will be impactful and transformative. Our goal is to work closely with Denver’s diverse communities to build a club that will operate with integrity and excellence from day one. We look forward to collaborating with our community to make Denver NWSL an inclusive and special club that all of Colorado can rally behind.” This truly expresses the excitement of the Denver community for something that was a long time coming.
Denver NWSL’s Alternate Governor, Mellody Hobson, is co-CEO & President of Ariel Investments, LLC. Ariel is the first and oldest African-American-owned mutual fund company in the United States and the parent company of newly formed private investment firm Project Level, which is investing in the new Denver team. Led by Hobson and former Washington Commanders President Jason Wright, Project Level’s mission is to ‘level’ the playing field in women’s sports through investment and ownership. The firm is working to give justice to the underappreciated growth and value embedded in women’s sports today. Slowly accomplishing this through highly curated portfolios of professional and emerging sports teams and leagues, junior and college sports opportunities, and related businesses that directly benefit from the global expansion of women’s sports. In 2022, Hobson made history as one of the first Black owners in the National Football League, as part of the Denver Broncos’ Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group. She is also a shareholder of the Chicago White Sox, the WNBA, and League One Volleyball. In 2021, she co-founded Ariel’s first private equity entity Ariel Alternatives, LLC – with inaugural $1.45 billion fund Project Black, which scales sustainable minority-owned businesses to fuel Fortune 500 supply chain diversity.
Even with all of Denver’s achievements it is still a partial mystery why the NWSL chose Denver as its next expansion franchise. The answer for this is in part due to For Denver FC, a grassroots movement to bring professional women’s soccer to the Centennial State. The community initiative was introduced as For Denver FC, and was led by Jordan Angeli, Tom Dunmore, Nicole Glaros and Ben Hubbard. For Denver’s work was instrumental in the early stages of Denver’s pursuit of an NWSL franchise, including engaging Rob Cohen and other members of the ownership group in the fall of 2023. For Denver FC will collaborate with Denver NWSL to continue to engage the Denver community and will be foundational as Denver NWSL builds a supporter base to support its newest club.
Additional quotes also contain the Mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston, saying, “Despite producing some of the world’s greatest players and being home to the best sports fans in the country, Denver has been deprived of its own professional women’s team, that changes today. We’re proud to announce that professional women’s soccer is coming to Denver and that generations of Denverites will soon be able to cheer on the nation’s top talent in their own backyard. Having worked side-by-side with investors to make this happen, I know the group behind this bid is as committed to putting together a world-class experience as they are to winning, and I look forward to seeing you on opening weekend 2026. Game on.” Colorado Governor Jared Polis also added, “We are thrilled to welcome a new women’s soccer team to Colorado. Colorado is already a home to thriving professional sports teams and with this new addition, we will continue to be a destination for people around the country. Just as we support all of our professional teams, I know that Colorado will show up for the league’s newest NWSL women’s soccer team. I can’t wait to catch my first match.”
