Report: Utah Royals FC Relocating To Kansas City
Dec 5, 2020, 5:39 PM
Photo courtesy: Utah Royals FC
SANDY, Utah – Utah Royals FC’s time in the beehive state has reportedly come to an end.
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According to Jeff Kassouf of Equalizer Soccer, the Royals are relocating to the Kansas City.
Current Royals owner Dell Loy Hansen is in the process of selling Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC, Real Monarchs, Rio Tinto Stadium and the Real Academy. According to Kassouf, the sale of the team is not officially complete with legal details still needing to be finalized.
NEWS: Utah Royals players were informed today that the franchise is relocating to Kansas City.
The sale of the team, however, is still not officially complete. Legal details still to be finalized. NWSL clearly feels they will be sorted shortly. KC outcome has been imminent.
— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) December 6, 2020
On November 24, The Athletic reported that the team was possibly going back to Kansas City. In 2017, Hansen purchased FC Kansas City and relocated the team to Utah. Utah Royals FC was founded with their inaugural season coming a year later in 2018.
Hansen’s purchase of FC Kansas City came following multiple ownership issues within the organization. The club was also experiencing poor fan attendance in 2016, despite in years prior having excellent attendance numbers.
Utah Royals FC has thrived in Utah despite having never qualified for the NWSL playoffs in the three seasons since it was founded. The club averaged over 10,000 fans every game during its inaugural season in 2018. The Royals has also been home to a number of prolific US Women’s National Team players including Becky Sauerbrunn, Christen Press, Amy Rodriguez, and Kelly O’Hara.
Unfortunately, the club has had its challenges in keeping staff, most recently, former manager Craig Harrington who was let go after only being on the sidelines for five games.
