Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang pledges $30 million into women’s soccer programs

Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang has pledged $30 million over the next five years to U.S. Soccer, marking the largest donation ever made to women’s and girls’ programs in the organization’s 111-year history.

The donation, announced by U.S. Soccer on Tuesday morning, is the largest contribution ever made to the organization by a woman and the second largest sum ever pledged after Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank, who gave $50m in September last year.

U.S. Soccer said this will increase competitive opportunities for youth players, expand and improve talent identification, and help fuel professional development for female players, coaches, and referees.

“Michele Kang’s gift will transform soccer for women and girls in the United States,” U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said in a release. “It will impact generations of women and girls in our game, including players, coaches, and referees. I know firsthand the power soccer can have in someone’s life and thanks to Michele, we will be able to provide more support and opportunities for women and girls.”

For Kang, who is also the majority owner of French side Olympique Lyonnais Femenin and the London City Lionesses of the English second tier, this is a major milestone in her ongoing and already-historic investments in women’s sports. She is also chief executive of Kynisca, a multi-team global organization dedicated to women’s soccer, and an investor in Just Women’s Sports and IDA Sports.

Kang briefly played soccer in elementary school, but her first exposure to the sport professionally came after the 2019 World Cup, which the U.S. won.

“When the players came back and there was a celebration, I learned about the presence of the professional league, and actually the team in the DC area, and I was blown away,” Kang said. “And as I started getting involved, I just saw an incredible potential and where it was versus where it could be. And I was really very surprised that there were just so little investment appreciating the potential. So, just like what I did in my other professional career, when I believe in something, I just jump in. So, I did with my head first.”

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Kang’s investment follows the trend of wealthy businesspeople investing in U.S. Soccer, following recent major investments by Arthur Blank and Ken Griffin. Blank donated $50 million in July 2023, largely funding a new U.S. Soccer headquarters and training center in Atlanta.

Kang said she hoped her investment would serve as “seed capital” and will inspire other donors to also contribute. “Women’s sports have been undervalued and overlooked for far too long,” she added. “I am committed to raising the standard of excellence in women’s soccer — both on and off the pitch — by delivering the resources female athletes need to reach their full potential and surround them with the professional support they deserve.”

U.S. Soccer said that Kang’s investment will help double the number of National Team camps it runs and build out their digital talent identification platform. The organization expects this to bring “12 times” the number of players into the youth national team’s pipeline, and help provide resources to “an additional 70,000” female coaches and referees, doubling their current count in the game.

“I believe a gift like this will change the trajectory of the sport,” USWNT head coach Emma Hayes said in the release. “We’re in a pivotal moment for soccer in the U.S. and this will help us support more female players, coaches and referees in the game.”

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