The 2021 Kansas City NWSL season was the team's first season as a professional women's soccer team. Kansas City NWSL plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. The team rebranded at halftime of its final match to the Kansas City Current.
Kansas City previously had an NWSL team in 2017, when two-time champions FC Kansas City ceased operations and its player-related assets were transferred to expansion team Utah Royals FC. Three years later, the Royals also had to cease operations, and a Kansas City-based ownership group led by financial executives Angie and Chris Long took advantage to secure an expansion team along with the Royals' player-related assets on December 7, 2020. Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and former college soccer player at University of Texas at Tyler, purchased a stake in the team as well.
The team began play at 10,385-capacity Legends Field, a baseball park in Kansas City, Kansas, that was home to the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. However, the team moved its inaugural home match, scheduled for April 26, to Children's Mercy Park due to delays in construction at Legends Field.
Upon forming Kansas City NWSL, the Longs immediately named Huw Williams, former general manager of FC Kansas City, as the team's inaugural head coach. The team subsequently named the rest of its staff on January 11, 2021.
Upon formation, the NWSL awarded Kansas City NWSL with the player rights, draft picks, and other roster-related assets of the defunct Utah Royals FC, which formed the team's inaugural roster.
Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2021 NWSL Draft was held on January 13, 2021. The NWSL awarded Kansas City all of the defunct Utah Royals FC team's player rights and draft picks upon its dissolution.