Utah Royals

Utah Royals FC is an American women's professional soccer club based in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah. Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion club, the Royals played its first stint in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) from 2018 to 2020. On December 7, 2020, the NWSL announced that the Royals would cease operations and their player-related assets transferred to the expansion Kansas City NWSL team, now known as the Kansas City Current. However, new owners of Utah Soccer LLC (succeeding Dell Loy Hansen) would have the option of bringing back the club. Having purchased Utah Soccer LLC from Hansen, David Blitzer and Ryan Smith exercised this option in March 2023 for the Royals to return to the NWSL in 2024.