Dave Checketts returned to Real Salt Lake, the MLS club he founded over 20 years ago, on Wednesday — but this time, with the visiting team.
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Real Salt Lake hosted EFL Championship’s Burnley FC in a friendly for the first time, and as a member of Burnley’s board of directors, Checketts made the trek back to Utah and spoke with reporters ahead of the occasion.
Burnley was just in the Premier League last season before being relegated to the EFL Championship for this upcoming season.
Checketts said that as founder of Utah’s MLS team, he hoped Real Salt Lake would host a club like Burnley one day.
“I hoped, but I knew it would take a lot of years. We just had to get the stadium built. That was the hardest part,” he said.
The match ended in an electric 4-1 victory for Real with goals from Zavier Gozo, Diego Luna and a brace from Sergi Solans.
But minutes before the match kicked off, Checketts had a pitch for Utahns to check out another team: Utah Royals FC. The team finished 12th out of 14 teams last season but turned things around this season and is currently ranked fifth after spending time in first and second place.
“I think (soccer president) Jason Kreis and his team have really done a great job — the changes that they’ve made, and the players they’ve added,” Checketts told the Deseret News.
Nearly 17,000 fans showed up for Real’s exhibition match on Wednesday, and Checketts thinks it’s only a matter of time until the same happens for the Royals.
“They should get to the same point that RSL is,” he said. “They should sell out on a regular basis.”
Checketts wants Utahns to give Utah Royals FC a chance.
“Because women’s soccer, in my humble opinion, is in many ways more fun to watch,” he said. “They’re actually better at connecting, making great passes leading to goals. So, if you haven’t been to a Royals game, you should get out here.”
What the Utah Royals mean to Kealia Watt
Checketts was also joined at the match by Burnley minority investors and part-owners J.J. Watt, a now-retired five-time NFL All-Pro, and Kealia Watt, a Draper native and former NWSL player. The Watts invested in the club in 2023.
Kealia Ohai played at Alta High School and was named Deseret News Ms. Soccer in 2009. She played collegiately at the University of North Carolina, followed by eight years in the NWSL with the Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars. She earned time with the U.S. women’s national team and set the record for fastest debut goal in team history, scoring 48 seconds after coming onto the pitch.
Ohai and Watt married in 2020.
Now retired, Kealia Watt said she’s been closely following the Royals.
“I was rooting for soccer in Utah for so long because I think it is such a soccer state,” she said. “I fell in love with the game here. The Royals have been incredible. They’re right at the top of the league.”
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Showing Koa where mom won her 4th straight state championship.
(7:30pm kickoff was a little late for Niko)@KealiaOhai pic.twitter.com/fW5xU4ZmCX
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 16, 2026
Growing up, the former Alta High star didn’t have a local professional team to look up to. Utah Royals FC didn’t play its first season until 2018 and was sold and relocated to Kansas City in December 2020.
In 2021, JJ Watt tweeted that he wanted “to bring the Royals back.”
tell them to drop the asking price a bit.
I want to bring the Royals back. https://t.co/DcxZUAFLiX
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 5, 2021
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was asked about that tweet on Wednesday and if he and his wife had considered investing in an American team.
“We very seriously looked into that. Trust me, the Royals were very interesting to us at a time,” he said. “I think there are certainly opportunities.”
But he pointed to the high valuation of American teams, which he said is “partially because of the lack of promotion-relegation” system that creates a “closed system” in the MLS unlike in European soccer.
“We like where we’re at now. You never know what the future holds, but we’re really enjoying where we’re at,” he said.
The Royals returned in 2024 under the ownership of David Blitzer and minority owner Ryan Smith. In April 2025, the Miller family and Miller Sports + Entertainment purchased both Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC, and now young girls in Utah have an opportunity Kealia Watt didn’t have.
“I’m just proud that my state has a women’s team and a place for young girls to be able to look up to people,” she said.
Social media apology
Minutes before the match, Real Salt Lake’s social media team posted a photo on X of the Watts and their son Koa walking onto the pitch at America First Field with the caption, “Welcome to the Riot, (J.J. Watt) and fam.”
Thursday morning, J.J. Watt called out the post for not naming his wife.
“The woman in the photo grew up literally down the road, won 4 Utah state championships (1 in this exact stadium), Gatorade Player of the Year twice, National Player of the Year, scored the fastest first goal in USWNT history…Could probably be worth a mention, but idk,” he wrote on X.
On Thursday afternoon, the team issued an apology on social media.
“We made an honest mistake yesterday and we are sincerely sorry for that. When we welcomed the Watt family to America First Field, we should have recognized Kealia Watt for exactly who she is.”