Michele Kang - women's sports QUEEN!

Michele Kang may be a new name to English football fans but she has been making a name for herself in the US for quite a while.

In England, she’s owner of London City Lionesses, formerly a championship team and just recently promoted to the Women’s Super League (WSL). These Lionesses form an independent club; they standalone and are not affiliated with a men’s club. There isn’t a men’s football team alongside them unlike all the other teams in the WSL which are linked to Premier League clubs.

Image courtesy Associated Press

Kang became involved with the club in December 2023 and the Lionesses are the third team on her books after Washington Spirit and Olympique Lyonnais. She was always aiming for promotion to the WSL and Kang’s already talking about the summer transfer window and purchasing players to strengthen the team ahead of their first season in top-flight English women’s football.

It was in 2019 that Kang was invited to help celebrate the US women’s football (soccer) team’s World Cup success at the Capitol in Washington DC. She saw the power of football and as an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, was introduced to Washington Spirit. In 2022, she became the first woman of colour to own a National Women’s Soccer League team in that team.

In 2023, Kang expanded her football empire by becoming involved with the French women’s team Olympique Lyonnais, creating a global organisation to propel women’s football upwards and forwards. She has interests in other football teams around the world, male and female, but don’t be misled, she is a major figure in women’s football.

Michele Kang’s investments in women’s sport

Alongside Kang’s investments in Washington Spirit, Olympique Lyonnais and London City Lionesses, she has invested

$30 million - the US women’s national team

$50 million - women’s health and sports injuries

$4 million - US women’s rugby team after she saw them playing at the Olympic Games in Paris and was captivated by the fan engagement.

Michele Kang is a positive force in women’s sports. She wants to own a club on every continent to start to level the playing field and ensure that growth is not just a privilege of some over others. Kang wants to change the trajectory of women’s sports. Quite rightly, she sees it as growth market, a sound investment and she predicts a profitable outcome. Michele Kang is ahead of the game; she’s leading the charge forward and we’re all lucky to be part of it.

Thumbnail image courtesy Alamy