KC Current owners Angie and Chris Long expand to multi-club model, purchasing Danish club HB Koge

New York Times

27-05-2025

Kansas City Current owners Angie and Chris Long are expanding their global soccer footprint, acquiring HB Køge Women, a top-flight Danish women's soccer club competing in the country's highest division. The Longs made the purchase through their investment firm, Ballard Capital.
The Longs worked with the seller, George Altirs, and his team at Capelli Sport to separate the women's team from the men's side, allowing them to buy only the women's club. Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang did the same with French women's club OL Lyonnes in 2023, as did Chelsea when it sold its women's team to sister company BlueCo earlier this year.
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The Longs did not set out to build a multi-club organization when they invested in Kansas City Current, but those plans have changed.
'We were looking for a place where we can integrate with the community and build this together,' Angie Long told The Athletic. 'It is something that we've loved about what we've done in Kansas City, and finding a location where we felt we could attract and develop talent was really important. Denmark, and Køge especially, we think really offer that opportunity.'
Founded in 2009 through the merger of KøgeBøldklub and Herfølge Bøldklub to become HB Køge Pigefodbold, the club won the championships three straight seasons from 2021 to 2023. The club also competed in the UEFA Women's Champions League during that time.
HB Køge plays its home matches at the Køge Stadium, which it shares with the men's side. The stadium is currently under renovation, paid for by the previous owners.
With the investment from the Longs, the club is planning to build a women's youth soccer academy in Scandinavia. The couple is also planning to make a significant investment in the business side to build franchise value over time.
'We think there are so many opportunities to elevate the community and the team to continue to compete at a really high level on the football side,' Chris Long said.
The amount of the investment was not disclosed, but a Current spokesperson told The Athletic the deal represents one of the most significant women's sports transactions in Denmark history.
The Longs became interested in owning a women's soccer team after the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. A little over a year later, they teamed up with former soccer player Brittany Mahomes and her husband, NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, to make their vision come true.
The group announced they had purchased the Utah Royals FC from Dell Loy Hansen and moved the NWSL club back to Kansas City. The team began play in the 2021 season and rebranded as the Kansas City Current in 2022. The following year, the Longs funded the construction of a $120 million venue, CPKC Stadium, which opened in 2024. The Current is the most financially successful team in the league with $36.3 million in revenue, according to Sportico's latest valuations. Last month, the Longs broke ground on a $1 billion mixed-use development on land adjacent to the stadium that will include about 2 million square feet of retail, office and residential space.
In addition to their recent investment in Denmark, the Longs are actively looking to expand their presence in women's soccer through the acquisition of additional clubs.
'We've been very active looking across geographies already for the better part of 15-18 months to find incredible soccer and the ability to impact the community and drive beyond business improvement,' Chris Long said.
'But it's important to us that we do it right,' Angie Long added. 'We do it with excellence. And I think this offers an opportunity to learn how to first become a multi-club model, and then to really build on it.'
(Top photo of Angie and Chris Long: HB Koge)