Angel City FC vs. Tigres Femenil: More than just a friendly

On May 24, 2022, Angel City Football Club announced a historic two-year partnership with Tigres Femenil, becoming the second NWSL club to face the Liga MX Femenil four-time league champion. This collaboration — which brings the Monterrey-based women's side to the Banc of California for a 7 p.m. PT friendly on Wednesday night — will promote the development of women’s soccer while engaging fans and teams in community impact events. 

Though the friendly in Los Angeles is just one of the two agreed-upon matches, it is without a doubt one to keep an eye on. 

Here's a look at why.

Expanding the boundaries 

Angel City FC continues impressing with its attendance numbers during its inaugural NWSL season, but the match against Tigres Femenil presents the opportunity of enticing a global audience by showcasing their international talent.

As ACFC president and co-founder Julie Uhrman explained in a recent interview, "We knew that we always wanted to play teams around the world to bring attention and awareness to women's sports but also to Angel City Football Club and our amazing athletes." 

Likewise, ACFC head coach Freya Coombe commented, "This partnership with Tigres is huge for us. Connecting with the soccer community both locally and globally is an important part of what Angel City is striving for. It’s a partnership like this one that starts off with two teams kicking a ball, but it is more about how we are able to learn from each other. How we are both looking to take the best points from each other’s clubs and implement those to grow the game in our communities.” 

Similarly, Tigres Femenil has established the institutional goal of turning Las Amazonas, as they're known, into the most followed football team outside of Mexico. After having hosted the Houston Dash in Monterrey back in October 2019, the club is only looking to keep strengthening bonds between the NWSL teams and its fanbase. 

“We are aware that the NWSL is one of the best leagues in the world and we want to enhance the image of our brand as well as Tigres Femenil," said Vice President of Operations and Marketing Carlos Valenzuela. "We also know there is a big Latinx fanbase looking forward to watching good soccer and we want to give them the opportunity to watch one of the best Mexican teams." 

The team's head coach Carmelina Moscate added, “There is also a strong link with the Latinx communities in LA. We would love to gain more supporters for our talented team celebrating Mexican heritage, talent, and success. This will also expose the players and staff to a high level of football that will teach us even more about ourselves at the highest levels.”

MORE: UANL Tigres Femenil heads to Austin with sights set on being the most popular Liga MX team in the United States

Bringing in talent

But becoming a global phenomenon isn’t just about exposure and community representation — it is also about developing world-class teams. Both Angel City FC and Tigres Femenil consistently target players who can be game changers for their clubs. Before reaching an agreement with Tigres Femenil to sign midfielder Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel on a one-year deal with option to extend, Angel City FC had already retained the services of one of the most promising young talents, Japanese 22-year-old star, Jun Endo from Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza. 

While the stay in Monterrey only lasted a couple of months for Ferrer Van Ginkel, she was the first foreign player to sign with one of the most renowned soccer clubs in Mexico. Thus far, the Brazilian has played two matches while Endo has 13 caps, logging the third-most minutes this season after Didi Haricic and Megan Reid. 

Ferrer Van Ginkel, commenting on the difference between the two sides, noted, “There is a really big difference both in community and playing style wise. For communities in Mexico, soccer is the primary sport and the community support is 100% percent attentive to soccer. Compared to the U.S., there are other sports that steer the attention away from soccer, which is not considered the primary sport of choice. But you can see what is possible with Angel City and all of the soccer happening in L.A.”

In Mexico, Tigres Femenil keeps elevating the women's game in Liga MX by signing players with global appeal. San Diego native Mia Fishel, or “Big Fish,” as the fans call her, landed in Monterrey to quickly become the second highest scorer. In the last Liga MX season, Fishel scored eight goals in the regular season and four during the playoffs. Shortly after her arrival, Uchenna Kanu, a U20 and U17 World Cup player for Nigeria, made her debut becoming an immediate international sensation of Las Amazonas. 

Tigres Femenil enters Wednesday's match in third place of the current Liga MX Apertura with a 4-1-1 record and 11 goals in favor. 

The elephant in the Room 

The question now is which one of the two powerhouse teams has the individual talent and winning mentality to take the win home. While Angel City FC has taken some punches in recent games, the potential to turn losses into learning experiences is palpable. Coombe will have the difficult task of keeping her team’s momentum going past 90 minutes or finding alternatives to stop key players such as Fishel and Stephany Mayor.  

On the other hand, Tigres Femenil has the responsibility to rise to the challenge by bringing their tradition of winning to new frontiers. Led by Canadian national Carmelina Moscato, Las Amazonas have the chance to redeem themselves against another NWSL team, considering last year’s 5-1 loss against the Houston Dash. Understanding the ambitious goals of Tigres Femenil as an institution, Moscato will have to prove to her squad and international fanbase that the team is equipped to win while playing football that inspires.  

Will Tigres Femenil bring the fire of El Volcan to Los Angeles? Or will the Angels spread their wings and fly in their first ever international friendly? 

Angel City FC season ticket holders will have access to their tickets using the Angel City FC application.  

Fans who are not season ticket holders can purchase tickets via Ticketmaster, or for those who can't attend the match, it's streamable via VIX on Zona TUDN.