USWNT great Lauren Holiday in line for NC Courage role – sources

Former National Women’s Soccer League MVP and World Cup champion Lauren Holiday is expected to play “a very active role” with the North Carolina Courage, should the sale of the team to Marc Lasry’s Avenue Capital Group be finalized, sources familiar with the negotiation told ESPN.

Holiday would join the team board and be involved in operations with a particular focus on player development, multiple sources said.

She will be in Cary, North Carolina, this weekend to learn more about the franchise and its needs, multiple sources confirmed. The Courage host the San Diego Wave on Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Avenue Capital Group is in advanced negotiations to acquire the Courage, ESPN previously confirmed. Sportico reported that the offer values the team at $108 million.

The Courage declined to comment on the potential sale.

Lasry is the former owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. He is chairman and CEO of Avenue Capital Group, which has been attempting to acquire an NWSL team for over a year.

“Women’s soccer should go from $50 million to $500 million in the next 10 years,” Lasry said at an event last year.

Holiday, a 2015 World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medal-winner with the United States, is part of the athlete advisory group at Avenue.

Holiday won the inaugural NWSL MVP and Golden Boot awards in 2013 and helped FC Kansas City win league titles in 2014 and 2015 before retiring. She was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame last year.

Her husband, Jrue, played for the Bucks from 2020-2023. Milwaukee won two NBA titles during that time. Lasry co-owned the Bucks from 2014 through 2023.

Forbes estimates Lasry’s net worth to be $1.9 billion. There has been a recent influx of billionaires into the NWSL as team valuations have soared in recent years. North Carolina is the only NWSL franchise that has not brought in a new majority owner or team governor in the past four years.

Holiday is known for her philanthropic endeavors in addition to her superlative play as a professional and international player. The NWSL uses Holiday’s namesake for an annual award given to a player who impacts their communities, “celebrating both their service and character off the pitch.”

Lauren and Jrue Holiday were honored with the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian ESPY Award last year for their work uplifting Black and Brown communities, including businesses and educational institutions, through their JLH Social Impact Fund.