Michele Kang: 'I'm not doing this as a charity'
"I'm not doing this as a charity." London City Lionesses owner Michele Kang says her investment in women's football is about building something that lasts and pays its way.
She spoke to BBC Sport for The Football Interview, published on 18 September. The episode is titled "'I'm not doing this as a charity' - Kang on trying to 'level playing field'" BBC Sport.
Kang said more infrastructure is needed to level the playing field. She means the unglamorous stuff around the players. Training grounds that are fit for full-time pros. Medical, fitness and analysis teams. The daily standards that decide how fast a young player improves.
It is a business argument, not a plea. Spend properly. Build properly. Then results and revenue can follow. That is the short version of her message, delivered without frills.
Kang knows the English game from the inside. She acquired London City Lionesses in December 2023, when the club were playing in the FA Women's Championship, the second tier of women's football in England. She was already an established owner in the United States, having become majority owner of the Washington Spirit in 2022. The Spirit play in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division in American women's football.
She has since tied her clubs together under one roof. In July 2024 she announced the launch of Kynisca Sports International Ltd, the group behind her multi-club project. Multi-club ownership means one owner running teams in different leagues. The idea is that coaches, scouts and sports science staff can share methods across borders.
Her spending has gone beyond her own teams. In November 2024 she pledged $30 million over five years to U.S. Soccer to support girls' and women's initiatives, according to Reuters. That money sits outside club football. It is aimed at the pipeline underneath it, from grassroots to the national team pathway.
What makes this stand out is the language. Kang does not talk like a donor waiting for thanks. She talks like an owner checking the training pitch, the physio room and the accounts. For fans, that means less chat about goodwill and more about whether the foundations are right every Saturday.
