SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – According to a report from ESPN, professional women’s soccer could return to the Beehive State in 2024.
Fans had long been expecting the return of the Utah Royals since January after newly-appointed Real Salt Lake owners Ryan Smith and David Blitzer had teased the franchise’s return.
The franchise had made the move from Utah to Kansas City after being sold at the end of 2020.
The Royals first came to Utah in 2018 after FC Kansas City folded. They played three seasons here, failing to make the playoffs in its first two seasons, and were eliminated in the first round of the Challenge Cup in July 2020 by Houston.
In 2019, the Royals were second in the NWSL in attendance, averaging 10,777 fans per game.
The Royals signed renowned U.S. National Team players like Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara, Christen Press and Amy Rodriguez.
In 2019, six URFC players joined their national teams at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, including Katie Bowen (New Zealand), Rachel Corsie (Scotland), Desiree Scott (Canada), as well as O’Hara, Press and Sauerbrunn who earned their second-consecutive World Cup title.
The club has not yet publicly commented on their possible return to Utah.
