St Louis City SC: The female-run MLS club inspiring girls and making history

St Louis SC is the 29th MLS franchise and was founded by Kindle and her family in 2019

When Carolyn Kindle set out to bring the St Louis community together and "elevate the city back to an international map" she did not intend to also make history.

But that is what she did when she created St Louis City SC and became the first female president and CEO of a Major League Soccer (MLS) team - and the first in the league's history to have a majority female-ownership group.

"It does make me proud, but it's interesting because it's just the way my family is constructed because we're mostly females," Kindle told BBC Sport.

Kindle's family - who also own Enterprise Rent-A-Car, founded by Kindle's grandfather - make up the club's ownership group with seven women and two men on the board.

"It was funny, everybody got a chuckle out of it because we're just used to that and then all of a sudden it was like 'oh wow, we have this incredible angle'," added Kindle.

"The thing about the women in that ownership group is they're all very successful in their own right.

"I've been very blessed to be surrounded by successful businesswomen whatever path they choose. It was a good fit and just added to the story that is City SC."

St Louis is steeped in football history - five of the 1950 World Cup side that overcame England in a historic victory were from the Missouri city, and members of the current USA squad Josh Sargent and Fulham's Tim Ream also hail from there.

But the city has not had its own professional football team - until now.

"I like to say it was a perfect storm - I think it took the right ownership group with the right business plan to really come in and sell the club," said Kindle.

"We offered a package that they [MLS] couldn't refuse and I think we have more than delivered on what we promised."

Kindle shares ownership of the club with her mother, aunt, uncle and several other family members

Inspiring girls 'why you get up and do this every day'

Kindle is a formidable force in business, and understands the importance of having women in positions of power traditionally occupied by men.

"In the marketing area, the people in my team who are doing the content and the social media - these are brilliant young women who have a perspective that I could never have," she said.

"We have a female groundskeeper who is probably one of the coolest, nicest people, but she is amazing at her job. The fact we were able to recruit her to City in itself is a great story.

"We have an academy coach who is female too, so we really are trying to do what we can to recruit women to put them in both traditional and non-traditional business roles.

"The female ownership does help with recruiting these types of women because they're like 'wait a second, they get it, they understand and I feel supported and they want me to be just as successful as I want to be'."

Kindle recognises that having diversity in all departments of the club can be a force for good when encouraging women not just to play the sport but also work in it.

"What I've enjoyed is watching young girls come up to me," she said. "A little girl walked up to me in a restaurant, probably eight years old and she said to me 'if I take a picture with you I'm going to be the most popular person in my school' - and I wanted to hire her on the spot!

"Hearing all these young girls coming up and saying 'I'm a soccer player' or 'I love writing' or 'I want to be you' - that has been very endearing but also very inspiring. It's why you get up and do this every day," added Kindle.

Several NFL teams have female owners including the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions, but female ownership in sports teams is not commonplace.

Kindle says having that diversity of thought in the boardroom means St Louis City can also encourage a diverse fanbase.

The club continues to reach out to different groups, such as women and LGBTQ+ communities, to understand how they can encourage people from different backgrounds to take an interest in the club.

"We want to know how would you feel safe in the stadium, what would you like to see, what can we do better and what can we continue to do," Kindle said.

She has also seen it as an opportunity to promote other female-owned businesses in St Louis.

"We've partnered with a clothing line, some female-owned restaurants - a lot of restaurants have wanted to partner with us actually because they like the female-ownership piece to this," said Kindle.

"It's the things that you don't necessarily see, and that is these great partnerships and emerging female-owned businesses that have been able to collaborate with us to elevate their brand."

'Now I understand why it's called the beautiful game'

When Kindle's family were brainstorming what they could do to bring the city of St Louis together, Kindle jumped at the idea of creating a professional football team.

"It's an international sport - I loved the passion, I love the supporters," she said. "The whole soccer culture itself is very interesting and I now understand why people become obsessed fans."

Kindle does not come from a football background, and credits her sporting director, former Germany goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel, for bringing her up to speed with the global game.

"Now I understand why it's the beautiful game," Kindle said. "I also think they need to add 'most stressful game' to that!"

St Louis City won their first home game against Charlotte 3-1, and secured a 3-2 victory in their first ever match, at Austin

Kindle said her side walking on to the pitch at their new stadium, City Park, to face Charlotte FC on Saturday in their home debut was "the greatest moment of my life", but also the culmination of five years' hard work.

Her side, including several St Louisans, won 3-1 in front of a jubilant home crowd and Kindle said watching the game makes her a "nervous wreck" - even when they win.

"I think because I know these players, I know where they come from - I have a very emotional attachment to them. I almost look at it as a parent-child thing," she said.

"I'm so proud of them. These players have worked so hard on and off the pitch, and to see them get that win was an incredible moment."