Naomi Osaka becomes co-owner of women's football team North Carolina Courage
US Open tennis champion Naomi Osaka has bought a stake in women's football team, North Carolina Courage.
Osaka, 23, said that the US women's national team's fight for equal pay was one of the inspiring factors behind her decision to invest as co-owner of the NWSL team who were crowned champions in 2018 and 2019.
“The women who have invested in me growing up made me who I am today and I cannot think of where my life would be without them. My investment in the North Carolina Courage is far beyond just being a team owner,” she said in a club statement.
"It’s an investment in amazing women who are role models and leaders in their fields and inspirations to all young female athletes. I also admire everything the Courage does for diversity and equality in the community, which I greatly look forward to supporting and driving forward.”
Osaka is the guest editor of this month's Telegraph Women's Sport supplement and has penned an exclusive column about finding her voice, and championing women and girls through sport. "Incredibly, sportswomen are still fighting for equal pay,” she wrote. “While the US Women’s National Team is more successful than the men’s by every measure, they still earn less. In November, they agreed on a settlement with their governing body which secures equal working conditions. But the fight for an equal paycheck continues.
"When I was young, tennis was really the only option for girls to pursue a professional sports career. I’m so glad that is finally changing. It is cool to see because football is a great sport for girls. I have a big football project coming, and it’s something I’m really passionate about."
The three-time grand slam champion, who won her second US Open in 2020, was named by Forbes as the world's highest-paid female athlete last year.
Her investment in North Carolina Courage comes after several celebrities and sports stars - including tennis greats Serena Williams and Billie Jean King - invested in a new women's team in Los Angeles, Angel City FC, who will join the NWSL in 2022.
"After I saw some high-profile females getting involved in the LA franchise [Angel City], I started looking to see if there were any teams where I could add value and make a strategic investment," Osaka told The Athletic.
"I’m very entrepreneurial and ambitious in business. I’m also passionate about growing awareness for women’s sport and inspiring the next generation of young girls. Being an owner in an NWSL team seemed like a great way to merge those two interests."
Osaka added that the US women's side's battle for equal pay influenced her decision, continuing: "Yes definitely. I think [women's soccer] is where my voice can resonate the most and also, I see it as a quickly evolving and expanding league.
"Tennis has a rich history of (almost) parity when it comes to prize money, so of course I have been following the US women’s team battle with interest."
The size of Osaka's stake in North Carolina Courage has not been disclosed, but she is the first person to invest in the club since Steve Malik purchased the team and relocated them to North Carolina in 2017.
