The scene in Bilbao, in 2024, foreshadowed the change that would come. Michele Kang, the owner of OL Lyonnes, strode around the edge of the pitch in the San Mames to greet the travelling supporters of the women’s football powerhouse, who were buoyed by her ambition and intent to invest. Barcelona won 2-0 to lift their third Women’s Champions League title in four years, thanks to goals from their two Ballon d’Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas. But while Kang, the South Korean-born American billionaire and philanthropist, vowed that Lyonnes would return stronger, her sphere of influence was also primed to have an impact elsewhere.
As well as the French champions, Kang owned two other teams as part of her multi-club Kynisca group, the US side Washington Spirit and the London City Lionesses, based out of Bromley and playing in the second tier of English women’s football. Two years on, driven by Kang’s vision and fuelled by her deep pockets, London City have secured promotion and undergone a remarkable makeover. From that Champions League final alone, they have signed not just Putellas, making the Spain international and World Cup winner the biggest overseas signing in Women’s Super League history, but two of her Barcelona team-mates in Mapi Leon and Jana Fernandez. From sister club Lyonnes, London City have signed two of their starting forwards in Kadidiatou Diani and Delphine Cascarino, as well as midfielder Danielle van de Donk.
open image in galleryWithin two years, London City have disrupted women’s football and have now set their sights on challenging for the WSL title. It has not come cheap: Putellas was a free transfer but is one of the highest-paid women’s footballers in the world at around £1m per year. Before the new season, London City have also signed former England goalkeeper Mary Earps from Paris Saint-Germain and have built a team set on challenging Arsenal and Chelsea’s dominance in the capital. In terms of transfer fees within the WSL, only Arsenal and Chelsea have come close to matching the £1m London City paid PSG for midfielder Grace Geyoro last summer. Their position is also a unique one. Of the 14 teams in this season’s expanded WSL, London City are the only independent outfit with no affiliation to a men’s club, yet their spending comfortably exceeds that of Manchester United and Liverpool, despite the riches that flow from the Premier League.
Kang is the driving force. The 67-year-old, who made her fortune through healthcare technology in the US, is an investor in the true sense of the word, believing in the untapped value and potential of women’s sports. Her philanthropy has extended to making $30m and $4m donations to US Soccer and USA Rugby respectively, the latter just hours after watching the US women’s rugby sevens team win bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. London City are likely to make a financial loss in their second season of playing the WSL, but Kang’s investment is not charity: she believes signing stars of the level of Putellas raises the value of the league and is a bet that will pay off in the long-term. On the eve of the WSL season, London City unveilved a groundbreaking shirt deal with Nike, which Kang claimed was worth around £3m and was worth more than the front-of-shirt sponsorships for some Premier League clubs.
In addition, Kang has put $50m into the creation of the Kynisca Innovation Hub, a centre that focuses on improving the health of elite female athletes. All three of Kang’s clubs will have access to Kynisca’s studies into female-specific training and injury prevention, both of which are areas that are severely under-researched. London City are also in the process of building a state-of-the-art training facility in Kent, designed to meet the needs of female athletes, while pooling together their resources with Lyonnes and Washington Spirit to unlock advancements in the preparation and conditioning of their players. The tangible benefits that may come further down the line could be game-changing for player development. It is why Kang believes that her multi-club ownership model is a “necessity”, despite the negative connotations of multi-club ownership that have stemmed from the men’s game.
Growing the game or ‘sporting integrity’ at risk?
When Barcelona defeated Lyonnes to win last season’s Champions League, the goalkeeper Cata Coll appeared to be directing criticism at Kang when she said “money isn’t everything”. It is not just London City who have signed players from Barcelona; Lyonnes have too by adding Ingrid Engen and Salma Paralluelo on free transfers in successive summers. In 2024, Washington Spirit appointed Jonatan Giraldez as their head coach from Barcelona. After a short spell in the US, Giraldez returned to Europe – but joined Lyonnes. The frustration Coll was alluding to following May’s Champions League final was that three different clubs in three different foreign leagues, but with the same owner, had the means, and some would argue motive, to pick at Barcelona for their talent.
Uefa’s rules on multi-club ownership do not differ between men’s and women’s football. If London City’s ambition is to win the WSL then they also aspire to play in the Champions League, alongside the record eight-time winners Lyonnes. Uefa’s regulations state that no individual or group may have “control or influence” over more than one club taking part in the competition. While there are workarounds (Brighton and Hearts are both allowed to play in this season’s men’s Conference League despite Tony Bloom owning both clubs, due to the group’s carefully managed ownership structure), Uefa’s head of women’s Nadine Kessler was clear when she said earlier this year that she wanted to “preserve the sporting integrity” of women’s football.
open image in galleryThere are also tight financial controls to negotiate in the WSL, which limit London City, or anyone else, from blowing other teams out of the water. Clubs are permitted to spend 80 per cent of their revenues, attributed only to women’s football, plus up to £4m from their owners, on player salaries. Such sums are small change compared to the Premier League, but are designed for financial sustainability within women’s football – so their accounting sheets will have to be carefully managed.
From this season, breaches of the salary cap can result in points penalties, with the punishments increasing incrementally. London City’s revenues are significantly lower than those of Arsenal and Chelsea, who will be playing all of their home games at the Emirates and Stamford Bridge respectively, and they need Kang’s millions to bridge the gap. The club’s last reported finances, from their promotion campaign from the Championship in 2024-25, saw a £10.6m loss, more than ten times their revenue of £900,000.
If London City have designs on operating a self-sufficient model then growing their home attendances and maximising their matchday revenue will be key. Kang’s vision has allowed London City to pull some of Europe’s best players but the 5,400-capacity Hayes Lane in Bromley has a rather low-key feel for such star names. Attracting supporters towards an independent club and breaking through the grip of Chelsea, Arsenal and reigning WSL champions Manchester City is a further challenge.
The signings of Putellas and Earps has the capacity to move the dial, and may just be the start of the Kynisca group’s impact on the WSL. But the question at the heart of Kang’s long-term goal can also echo the sentiment of Field of Dreams. It’s one thing to build it, but will they come?