Northeast Ohio's first-ever women's pro soccer team officially has a brand.
The new WPSL Pro team will be known as the Cleveland Astra, the Cleveland Soccer Group announced Monday.
Set to debut in 2028, the team will sport violet, midnight blue and gold as its team colors.
The Astra's crest, which is outlined in gold, will include a depiction of Ursa Major, the North Star and the team name.
According to the Cleveland Soccer Group, the brand is inspired by the team's mission to be the "North Star of soccer in Northeast Ohio."
“One of the most powerful statements I heard during interviews was from a fan who said – ‘I’m tired of needing to bounce back; I just want to have what I need to fly.’ So, we looked up," said Gina Prodan Kelly, CMO of Cleveland Soccer Group and co-founder of Cleveland Astra.
After surveying over 3,000 fans, the Cleveland Soccer Group found consensus that the area's first women's pro team needed to create its own mythology.
“What we heard most was that our women’s sports fans didn’t want to be steeped in someone else’s history,” Prodan Kelly said.
Cleveland Soccer Group announced the development of this team last April, after Cleveland was beaten out by Denver for a National Women's Soccer League team.
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The Astra will be one of three new women's professional teams debuting in Ohio in 2028 and will be a founding club in the WPSL Pro, a new league designed to expand access to professional soccer.
"Athletes from Greater Cleveland are playing in NWSL, Super League and top-flight leagues across the globe,” Prodan Kelly said. “Our team was created to inspire, embolden and support women to achieve their greatest potential – on or off the pitch.”
The team will play in a new stadium being built Downtown, which will also be home to the recently announced Forest City Cleveland men's team.
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