Emhoff is a soccer fan, having met with the Chelsea women's team last fall before attending the NWSL Challenge Cup in March. That has made it easy to match his passion with his purpose.

"This sport is a universal language," said Hucles, a former teammate of Fair who played for nearly a decade with the women's national team. "I witnessed football as a vehicle for advocacy and positive change. Our unique platforms promote positive change, specifically when we're talking about gender equity. The origin story of this club began with changing the narrative and shifting culture around gender equity and pay discrepancy to women."

Which is another reason the second gentleman chose Angel City to promote the administration's gender-equity policies. Since its inception in summer 2020, the club and its sprawling group of more than 100 owners — the largest women-led ownership group in professional sports history — has leveraged its unique platform to make a difference in at-risk communities.

Angel City pioneered an innovative model that reallocates 10% of sponsorship revenues to community initiatives focusing on equity, essentials and education. That will redirect at least $7 million to Southern California over the next three to five years.

In addition, the team mobilized more than 1,700 volunteers for local programs, contributing more than 5,400 collective hours of community service; created an alternative to the pay-for-play model by creating more equitable opportunities for girls and gender-expansive individuals to play sports; and more than doubled girls' participation across two youth sports programs.

"For me it's a great breakthrough," said Richard Lapchick, president of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.

"This team is going to be looked at as a team of social justice warriors as well as the team of vanguard athletes," he said.

All that work has earned Angel City attention not just from the White House but from ESPN as well, with the network choosing the team as one of four nominees for the Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year award at next month's ESPYs.

"I met Laurie during the World Cup, and we started talking about the all the things that weren't working. At Angel City they are working," Emhoff said. "This is my hometown. I'm from here, and I wanted to come here to support this team that's doing the right thing right in my hometown."

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