Alisha Lehmann surprisingly is leaving Juventus after just helping the Juventus Woman to a league win and cup double to join Italian club FC Como Women. Lehmann accounted for 19 goals and 10 assist in the England Women’s Super League but her play is just one part of how this FC Como Women headed up by Mercury 13 and Victoire Cogevina.

FC Como Women is owned by the investment group **Mercury/13**. Mercury/13, co-founded by Victoire Cogevina Reynal and Mario Malavé, acquired a controlling stake in the club in March 2024. The group aims to build a multi-club portfolio of women's soccer teams.

You may have seen Eva Longoria is also in the soccer business. Eva Longoria is involved with Club Necaxa, a Mexican professional soccer team. She is an investor in the team and also an executive producer and star of the FX docuseries "Necaxa" which follows the team's journey.

I bring this up because the quiet part that no one is talking about and why it relates to Lehmann is there is a recipe to making a unknown team or an emerging league a venture success. People don’t own teams to lose money in the long run. What investors see is there is a blueprint to finding virality either through players on the field, sponsorship and brand alignment, or through investors name recognition and/or celebrity.

Lehmann is signed through 2028. FC Como Women have unveiled a new Nike kit, have new sponsors and now make a splash getting one of the better players in Europe, but also one of the most recognizable. With over 16M followers on Instagram and 12M on TikTok. FC Como who finished in the bottom half of Serie A last season get a huge boost to bringing fans and supporters to their club and Lehmann only 26 gets a chance to cement herself as one of the top players in Europe. A quote that really stuck out to me from Lehmann on the move was this, “We’re in a moment where women’s football can define itself on it’s own terms, and independent clubs like Como Women have the opportunity in leading the movement. It isn’t just about winning matches. It’s about building something that lasts. This is the first time I’ve joined an independent club. That was a big part of my decision. It shows there is a different way of doing things.”