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Utah Royals FC will be purchased away from Utah Soccer and will relate to Kansas City, per a report by Jeff Kassouf of The Equalizer tonight. The sale is pending and not yet official, but all that remains is for it to be finalized.
The club could not officially comment on the sale to RSL Soapbox.
NEWS: Utah Royals players were informed today that the franchise is relocating to Kansas City.
— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) December 6, 2020
The sale of the team, however, is still not officially complete. Legal details still to be finalized. NWSL clearly feels they will be sorted shortly. KC outcome has been imminent.
Meg Linehan, reporter at The Athletic, confirmed Kassouf’s reporting.
Was just working with our news team on this update, but yes — as of yesterday, multiple sources told me the paperwork for the sale was waiting on Dell Loy Hansen's signature. #NWSL https://t.co/C50kviTtve
— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) December 6, 2020
A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that the Royals’ future in Utah was in question, outlining a potential move to Kansas City for Utah Royals FC.
Dell Loy Hansen assumed ownership in 2017 of players’ contracts from the FC Kansas City team that folded. Less than three years later, though, as racist and sexist remarks from Hansen came to light; he agreed to sell Utah Soccer, LLC, the parent company that owns Real Salt Lake, Real Monarchs and Utah Royals FC.
But the organization remains unsold, leaving uncertainty on what happens to Utah Royals FC if Hansen does not sell by the deadline of January 8th. Major League Soccer will presumably take over the process for Real Salt Lake if a deal is not in place by the deadline, but it also puts the NWSL and USL in a position to scramble to find new owners. The NWSL certainly does not have the resources MLS has to step in and take control of the team to keep them in Utah.