Gabrielle Union has always believed her daughter Kaavia is destined for great things. It turns out some of those great things have already happened.
The actress and activist sat down recently to discuss her partnership with Casamigos ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a tournament that holds particular personal significance for Union given her own history with the sport. But the conversation quickly turned to Kaavia, her seven-year-old daughter with former NBA star Dwyane Wade, and a business milestone that most adults never achieve at any age.
Gabrielle Union and the Angel City investment she made with Kaavia
Kaavia is a minority owner of Angel City Football Club, the professional women’s soccer team based in Los Angeles. Union made the investment alongside her daughter, but Kaavia holds her own stake with her own representation handling the details. For a period of time, Union said, Kaavia held the distinction of being the youngest owner in professional sports, a title that has since been claimed by even younger children connected to other high-profile sports families.
The ownership stake is more than a novelty. Union described Kaavia as genuinely engaged with the club, attending matches and watching the players compete from a position that puts her close to the action. Whether that proximity will translate into Kaavia becoming a player herself is something Union says she would welcome enthusiastically.
Union’s connection to soccer runs deep and predates her daughter by decades. She played the sport at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and grew up playing year-round alongside her younger sister, who still lives with the family and helps care for Kaavia. The two of them share a quiet hope that Kaavia will eventually pick up the game seriously.
Kaavia Wade and the soccer path Gabrielle Union is paving
The groundwork has been laid carefully. Kaavia completed two soccer camps during the most recent school year alone, and her social circle already includes children of professional players. Union mentioned that her daughter spends time around the kids of a prominent women’s soccer figure whose children are around Kaavia’s age, and Union described the possibility of them playing together one day as a dream she genuinely holds.
Early signs have been encouraging. Years ago, Union shared a video of herself, Wade, and a toddler-aged Kaavia playing soccer in the backyard, a clip that attracted attention from players across the National Women’s Soccer League who commented on the young girl’s natural instincts and footwork. The footage showed Kaavia chasing the ball with both feet, drawing praise from professional players who predicted a future on the field.
Whether Kaavia ultimately pursues soccer competitively or channels her energy elsewhere, she is already operating in spaces that most people never access. A seven-year-old with a professional sports ownership stake, a mother who played college soccer and is now partnered with a major brand around the World Cup, and a family that moves fluidly between the worlds of sports, entertainment, and business, Kaavia Wade is, by almost any measure, off to an extraordinary start.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup and what it means for Gabrielle Union
The tournament kicks off on June 11 and runs through July 19 across cities in North America, bringing the world’s most watched sporting event to American soil in a significant way. For Union, who grew up playing the game and never stopped loving it, the moment carries a personal weight that goes beyond her brand partnership. It is a chance to celebrate a sport that shaped her, in a year when her daughter is beginning to find her own relationship with it.
If things go the way Union hopes, Kaavia will be watching those matches not just as a fan or even as an owner but as someone with a future in the game herself.
