Naomi Osaka now owns an NWSL team, and growing interest in women’s sports prompted her investment
![Naomi Osaka wearing a purple hat with a racket: Naomi Osaka. Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"60","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbpHv.img?h=599&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1571&y=345"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"47","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbpHv.img?h=468&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1571&y=345"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"47","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbpHv.img?h=468&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1571&y=345"}})
- Naomi Osaka is now the proud owner of a professional sports franchise.
- The 23-year-old invested in the North Carolina Courage, an NWSL team, and cited her interest in promoting women’s sports as her motivation.
- Osaka and the club evidently share a winning mentality
Naomi Osaka has garnered an array of accolades – three-time Grand Slam champion, last year’s highest paid female athlete on the planet, and social and racial justice advocate among them – that would be absolutely astounding even for someone twice her age.
And now, the 23-year-old can add professional sports franchise owner to the list.
![a close up of Naomi Osaka holding a racket: Naomi Osaka. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"60","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbb64.img?h=600&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1086&y=1157"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"47","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbb64.img?h=468&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1086&y=1157"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"47","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbb64.img?h=468&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1086&y=1157"}})
“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,” Osaka said, per a release from the franchise. “My investment in the North Carolina Courage is far beyond just being a team owner, it’s an investment in amazing women who are role models and leaders in their fields and inspirations to all young female athletes.”
![a woman holding a baseball bat: Naomi Osaka wears a mask with the name of police brutality victim Philando Castile during the 2020 US Open. Seth Wenig/AP]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"60","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbo3o.img?h=600&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"47","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbo3o.img?h=469&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"47","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbo3o.img?h=469&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"}})
While Osaka and the club evidently share a winning mentality, both parties also boast a public commitment to fighting injustice. Osaka made waves last fall as she used her platform to honor victims of police brutality throughout her historic 2020 US Open championship run. Likewise, her recently-acquired team was among the first in American professional sports to kneel during the national anthem, and players within the franchise are leaders in the league’s newly-formed Black Women’s Player Collective.
![a group of people standing in front of a crowd posing for the camera: Players for the North Carolina Courage kneel ahead of a 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup game. Bryan Byerly/ISI Photos/Getty Images]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"60","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbo3v.img?h=600&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1044&y=268"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"47","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbo3v.img?h=469&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1044&y=268"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"47","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1dbo3v.img?h=469&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1044&y=268"}})
“We have raised cups, trophies, and shields,” the video says. “We have fought like hell and learned from defeat. We take action for what’s important, and sometimes kneel in defiance. We are diverse talent from all over the globe with a universal message of empowerment.”
“Welcome, Naomi Osaka. Courage unites us.”
WHO IS THE North Carolina Courage:
The North Carolina Courage is a professional women’s soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded in 2017 after Stephen Malik acquired National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) franchise rights from Western New York Flash. The Courage is affiliated with the men’s team North Carolina FC of the United Soccer League and plays its home games at the Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.
In 2018, the Courage became the first team in NWSL history to win the Shield and the Championship in the same season. In 2019, the team became the first team to win the Championship on its home field.
The North Carolina Courage relocated to Cary, NC in 2017 from Western New York. The team played the Washington Spirit for their first match and defeated the team 1–0 with a goal by McCall Zerboni. The Courage went on to win the 2017 NWSL Shield and advanced to the 2017 NWSL Championship after defeating the Chicago Red Stars 1–0 in the NWSL Semifinal. The team fell 1–0 to the Portland Thorns in the 2017 NWSL Championship.
In 2018, the Courage had the best season in NWSL history, losing just one of 26 games played during the season. The Courage also participated in and won first place in the inaugural Women’s International Champions Cup. Heather O’Reilly scored the only goal in the defeat over Olympique Lyon. After clinching the NWSL Shield, the team defeated the Portland Thorns in the 2018 NWSL Championship 3–0. Jessica McDonald was named the NWSL Championship MVP after scoring two goals in the match.
The Courage were crowned NWSL Champions for the second consecutive season after defeating the Chicago Red Stars, 4–0 in the 2019 NWSL Championship held in Cary, North Carolina. Debinha was named the NWSL Championship MVP after scoring the fastest goal in NWSL Championship history. The team clinched the NWSL Shield for the third time in as many years on Saturday, September 21 after defeating Utah Royals FC. The team had an overall record of 15W-4D-5L.
Team name, crest, and colors
The team’s name is a nod to the original Carolina Courage – who won the 2002 Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) Founders Cup – as is the stylized lioness image, which matches the head of the lioness on the WUSA team’s badge with very minor alterations. The badge features elements from the flag of North Carolina with both the star and the color scheme, the latter keeping in line with the NCFC brand. The lower right point of the star represents the Research Triangle, a geographical region that includes Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh. The Courage’s primary colors include “Atlantic blue”, “cardinal red,” and “Southern gold.
WHO IS Naomi Osaka:
Naomi Osaka (大坂 なおみ, Ōsaka Naomi, Japanese pronunciation: [o̞ːsäkä näo̞mi], born October 16, 1997) is a Japanese professional tennis player. Osaka has been ranked No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. She is a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, and is the reigning champion at the US Open. Her six WTA titles on the WTA Tour also include two at the Premier Mandatory level. At the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Australian Open, Osaka won her first two Grand Slam singles titles in back-to-back Grand Slam tournaments, and is the first player to achieve this feat since Jennifer Capriati in 2001.
Born in Japan to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother, Osaka has lived and trained in the United States since she was three years old. She came to prominence at the age of sixteen when she defeated former US Open champion Samantha Stosur in her WTA Tour debut at the 2014 Stanford Classic. Two years later, she reached her first WTA final at the 2016 Pan Pacific Open in Japan to enter the top 50 of the WTA rankings. Osaka made her breakthrough into the upper echelon of women’s tennis in 2018 when she won her first WTA title at the Indian Wells Open. Later in the year, she defeated 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams in the final of the US Open to become the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title. From 2018 through 2020, she won a Grand Slam singles title in three consecutive years.
Osaka is one of the most marketable athletes in the world, having been ranked eighth among all athletes in endorsement income in 2020. She was also the highest-earning female athlete of all time by annual income that year. Osaka has gained significant recognition as an activist, having showcased support for the Black Lives Matter movement in conjunction with her matches. She was named one of the 2020 Sports Illustrated Sportspersons of the Year for her activism largely as part of her US Open championship run, and was also included on Time‘s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in both 2019 and 2020. On the court, Osaka has an aggressive playing style with a powerful serve that can reach 201 kilometres per hour (125 mph).
