As well as being interested in the club because it was independent, making the deal to buy it more straightforward, Kang said: “The fact that the name is London City, that’s huge in my opinion, and in the London City area there’s really no football presence there so it’s really right for us to go in and take that as the future.” Except, building an identity as a team for London, in a city known for its localised loyalties will be difficult.
In addition to the investment in her football clubs, she has provided a $50m (£40.3m) investment in the Kynisca Innovation Hub, a nonprofit organisation she founded dedicated to improving the health of female athletes, pledged a $30m five-year donation to US Soccer for the development of women’s and girls’ football and committed $4m to the USA women’s rugby sevens team after watching them win bronze at the Paris Olympics.
At a slick press conference in central London in June 2024, the former Paris Saint-Germain Women head coach Jocelyn Prêcheur was unveiled as the team’s new manager, the experienced Sweden international Kosovare Asllani was revealed as having signed from Milan, the relocation of the team’s home ground to Bromley’s Hayes Lane stadium was announced and the purchase of their 23-acre training facility in Kent was confirmed.
London City Lionesses fail to shock Arsenal but progress there to be seen Investment by Michelle Kang paying off with strong showing in Championship but building deeper community ties to the club will be key.
London City may be increasingly looking like they are building a side capable of competing with WSL-level clubs on the pitch and from a financial point of view, but they need bums on seats if they are to give Kang a return on her investment in the medium to long term.
