Years ago, Orlando Pride co-owner and chairman Mark Wilf got a knot in his stomach as he watched his daughter get ready for penalty kicks during a middle school soccer match.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember how tense it was,\u201d he tells The Athletic. \u201cShe was a goalie, and it came down to penalties.\u201d His daughter\u2019s team won.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Last year, that knot returned, as did the jubilation, during the final minutes of the NWSL Championship when the Pride lifted the trophy thanks to a goal from forward Barbra Banda against the Washington Spirit at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always loved sports, playing them and going to games,\u201d he said. \u201cSeeing how much team spirit, being part of sports and what it does for young people and communities, I always dreamt of being, one day, part of a sports team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilf grew up in New Jersey, where sports were a family affair. His father, a Holocaust survivor, embraced the NFL in his new country and frequently took his family to football games whenever possible. And it wasn\u2019t just American Football. The Wilfs were among the 77,000 people watching Pele in 1977<\/a>, when the soccer legend played for the now-defunct NASL\u2019s crown jewel, the New York Cosmos, at Giants Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The family\u2019s dream of owning a sports franchise came to fruition in 2005. Wilf, his brother Zygi, and their cousin Leonard bought the financially crippled Minnesota Vikings franchise and the U.S. Bank Stadium, which was under construction at the time, for $600 million. A replica Viking ship sat in the parking lot, its wood rotting. The brothers\u2019 first decision was to rebuild the ship and fix the HVAC system for the locker rooms, ensuring that fans understood they were investing in the team and for the players, long-term.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sixteen years later, Wilf led the 2021 acquisition of Orlando City in MLS, the Orlando Pride in NWSL and Exploria Stadium<\/a> in a deal valued at roughly $400 million. The DeVos family, owners of the Orlando Magic, took a minority stake. Two years later, basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill \u2014 who is a co-owner of the NBA\u2019s Atlanta Hawks \u2014 and his wife, Grammy-nominated singer Tamia Hill, joined the Orlando Soccer Holdings ownership group.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we did meet, it became evident that Mark\u2019s vision, passion and commitment to the franchise\u2019s success would form the foundation for sustainable achievement,\u201d Hill told The Athletic. \u201cEverything he has done since aligns with what was observed in our initial meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Wilf was soccer curious all along. While building the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota, he was already looking at Major League Soccer. Once the opportunity knocked on their door in Central Florida and Orlando\u2019s former owner, Fl\u00e1vio Augusto da Silva, put the team up for sale, he did not hesitate. <\/p>\n The Pride has been part of the NWSL since 2016 as an expansion club. It first hired former U.S. women\u2019s national team manager Tom Sermanni and signed U.S. star Alex Morgan, instantly elevating expectations. However, they failed to find the rhythm they had expected, finishing the inaugural season ninth out of 10 teams. In 2017, they brought in Brazilian soccer phenom Marta. The impact was instant. <\/p>\n Orlando climbed to third place before losing in the playoffs to the Portland Thorns, who took home the silverware that year. However, the team failed to reach the postseason in the following campaigns, finishing no higher than seventh until last year.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n When Wilf first arrived in Orlando in 2021, he was surprised by the amount of work that needed to be done.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe facilities weren\u2019t where they needed to be,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve spent a lot of time upgrading locker rooms, making sure the players have the right facilities around the fields, everything. We wanted players to walk in and feel this was a first-class organization.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2022 season wasn\u2019t smooth. Head coach Amanda Cromwell, hired that season after a celebrated run at UCLA, was placed on administrative leave in June following a joint NWSL\/NWSLPA investigation into \u201calleged retaliation\u201d under the league\u2019s workplace misconduct policy<\/a>. She was dismissed in October. Assistant coach Seb Hines, who had no prior head-coaching experience, stepped in as interim. They ended up finishing the season 10th overall, but there was hope for change.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Ahead of the 2023 season, the Pride made Hines the head coach and hired former Houston Dash goalkeeper Haley Carter as the club\u2019s general manager. Wilf credits Carter and Hines \u2014 and Marta \u2014 for transforming the Pride into what he calls \u201ca team with real soul.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we came in, Marta was nursing an ACL (injury),\u201d he said. \u201cBut she was out there working her tail off, setting an example. She\u2019s radiant. She\u2019s a leader in every sense.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pride\u2019s 2024 campaign became a defining moment for the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n They signed Barbra Banda to a four-year deal, paying a reported<\/a> $740,000 transfer fee \u2014 the second-highest in women\u2019s football history at the time. Carter overhauled the personnel; she is currently the club\u2019s vice president of soccer operations and sporting director, and Hines started honing the 4-3-2-1 formation. The best news was that Marta was back on her feet again.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, speaking with The Athletic, Carter shared her thoughts on the success of the team and gave credit to the ownership style of the Wilf family:<\/a> \u201cInvested and in regular communication, but not overly fiddly or micro-managey,\u201d she said, explaining what helped Pride reach the playoffs after so many years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat whole year was something special,\u201d Wilf said. \u201cYou win the Shield, but then you still have to survive the playoffs.\u201d He has seen Marta\u2019s iconic semifinal goal several times and still gets goosebumps, like he is seeing it for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In the final, Orlando outlasted the Spirit to lift its first major trophy. \u201cIt was a crescendo,\u201d Wilf said. \u201cHolding on in those final minutes, it\u2019s something I\u2019ll never forget. To have such a historic season like last year and winning the double like we did, it doesn\u2019t happen by accident.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The win capped a storybook season for the club, which shattered multiple league records, including the most points, most wins and most clean sheets. The Pride went unbeaten at home in the regular season and adding two more postseason victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the championship, a new side of Wilf was uncovered: his dance moves.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cFans might be surprised by Mark\u2019s dancing talents after winning championships,\u201d Hill recalled. \u201cAfter we clinched the title last year in Kansas City, he appeared briefly on the dance floor. I\u2019d rate him an 8.5 out of 10.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Pride\u2019s dominance on the pitch and the dance floor showed up everywhere, including the NWSL awards in 2024. Hines was named NWSL Coach of the Year, while Emily Sams took home Defender of the Year. The Pride also had five players on the Best XI: Sams, Marta, Banda, Anna Moorhouse, and Kerry Abello.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you steward a franchise, whether it\u2019s the Vikings or the Pride, you\u2019re responsible not just for winning, but for creating something the community can be proud of,\u201d Wilf said. \u201cThat\u2019s what my parents taught us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Despite Pride\u2019s epic run in 2024, the 2025 season has been anything but smooth. The reigning champions clawed their way back to the postseason despite losing last year\u2019s championship MVP, Banda, to a season-ending injury, navigating the tricky blend of new and returning players, and absorbing forward Adriana\u2019s departure.\u00a0<\/p>\n Off the field, revenue from Pride sponsorships has increased drastically since\u00a0the first season of Wilf family ownership. Following the 2024 season, the club has sold more new season ticket memberships for 2025 than it did for 2024, 2023, and 2022 combined, according to the team, and according to Forbes<\/a>, the Pride is valued at $92 million. The club also became the first NWSL team to surpass one million social-media followers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWinning helps,\u201d Wilf said. \u201cBut it\u2019s about investing in people and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n At the league level, Wilf sits on the NWSL\u2019s executive committee, where he\u2019s been pushing for continued professionalization.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we came in, the league wasn\u2019t where it needed to be in terms of structure and depth,\u201d he said. \u201cWith commissioner Jessica Berman, we\u2019ve built real momentum. Better media deals, stronger sponsorships, smarter governance. We\u2019re still early, but the trajectory is there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n According to SponsorUnited\u2019s 2024\u20132025 NWSL Marketing Partnerships Report<\/a>, league-wide team sponsorship revenue hit $75 million in 2024, a 16 percent jump from 2022. On average, clubs pulled in about $5 million apiece, with individual deals landing around $170,000.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cWomen\u2019s soccer in the U.S. is in the first half of its potential,\u201d Wilf said, in NFL terms. \u201cWe\u2019re building something that will be world-class. More fans, more investment, global talent wanting to come here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n After Banda\u2019s record-breaking transfer in 2024, the Pride signed Jacqueline \u2018Jackie\u2019 Ovalle, the Mexican forward nicknamed La Maga (the magician), in a world-record transfer for women\u2019s football over the summer<\/a>, worth $ 1.5 million in fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe brought in two of the highest-paid transfers in women\u2019s sports history because we believe it\u2019s what the fans want,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Owning an NWSL team is different from owning an NFL franchise, but Wilf sees parallels.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe NFL is the NFL. It\u2019s such a premier sport. The product is so incredible, and it builds cities and brings people together. The game itself is so exciting,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe NWSL brings a different kind of excitement for me. It was a league with real potential, essentially at ground level, but ready to take off, and needed to be professionalized. I am very proud to have worked alongside the other owners to help build the league office from the early days and to be part of shaping what we hope will remain a high-growth league for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n On Sunday, the Wilf family will be back in the stands at Inter & Co Stadium, bracing for another nerve-shredding semifinal against Gotham FC\u00a0 that could send the Pride to a second straight final.\u00a0<\/p>\n The tension, the roar, the whole roller coaster will be there, and if things break Orlando\u2019s way, Wilf might just find himself back on the dance floor, chasing that perfect 10. <\/p>\n