(Reuters)Major League Soccer's (MLS) expansion franchise St. Louis City make their regular-season debut on Saturday and, in Carolyn Kindle, they have a female figurehead with an uncommon combination of leadership roles.
The self-described soccer newcomer is President, CEO and part of the nine-strong majority female ownership group who shelled out a reported $200 million in expansion fees to make St. Louis City the 29th MLS team.
Kindle told Reuters it was an "epic journey" from launching the expansion plan in 2018, after previous attempts to bring a men's professional club to the soccer-mad city fell through.
Kindle, the granddaughter of Enterprise Rent-A-Car founder Jack Taylor, said it started as an idea to give back to the St. Louis community.
"I don't really think soccer was in there in the top five originally," said Kindle, who climbed up the ranks of Enterprise Holdings, the parent company for Enterprise Rent-A-Car.