Serena Williams’ daughter becomes world’s youngest pro sports owner

While her peers are only just figuring out the basics of potty training, Alexis Olympia Ohanian is already set up to make moves in the sports world.

No, she isn't starting her toddler tennis career – yet.

Instead her parents, tennis champ Serena Williams and tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, have ensured she's a co-owner of Angel City, the new women's soccer team launching in Los Angeles – making her the youngest owner in professional sports.

The National Women's Soccer League announced that it’s awarded the Angel City group the franchise for a new Los Angeles team, which will join the league in the spring of 2022.

Little Alexis is bringing the team to LA, along with a group of investors that includes her parents, actress Natalie Portman, technology venture capitalist Kara Nortman and media and gaming entrepreneur Julie Uhrman.

Other famous names involved are fellow Hollywood actors Eva Longoria, Uzo Aduba, Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain, along with more than a dozen former US women's national soccer team stars, including Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Joy Fawcett and Abby Wambach.

As for why a toddler is among the list of big names getting a stake in professional soccer team – that was recently explained by her father, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

“As someone who spends hours kicking around a football with my two-year-old daughter, I want her to have a front-row seat to this revolution,” he wrote on Instagram.

“I'm personally investing on behalf of my family because creating more opportunities in women's sports is important to my wife @serenawilliams and me, and we want to be a part of making a better future for our daughter.”

The news came about a year after the US women's team won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The tournament’s final match attracted over 260 million viewers and the sport has since recorded an average 22% increase in stadium attendances compared to the 2018 season.

The news also comes more than a year after members of the US women's soccer team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation, claiming they faced "institutionalised gender discrimination", including in their pay.

According to NBC News, a judge later dismissed the unequal pay claim. However, members of the women's national team have vowed to continue to fight for gender equality.