In December 2023, London City Lionesses were bought by Kang, marking the start of a new era for the club.
The South Korea-born American investor was inspired to invest in women’s sport after meeting the World Cup-winning US women’s national team in 2019.
She has invested more than £40m in rugby and football, including US Soccer.
Kang set up Kynisca Sports International, the industry’s first women’s multi-club soccer ownership group, and has built up a portfolio of women’s football teams, purchasing NWSL team Washington Spirit and French serial trophy winners Lyon, alongside the Lionesses.
Her objective couldn’t be clearer: to make every team she owns champion of their respective league.
Kang’s influence has been eye-catching, recruiting manager Precheur, who led PSG to the last four of the 2023-24 Women’s Champions League, and bringing in more than a dozen new players throughout this season.
The headline additions included veteran Sweden internationals Sofia Jakobsson and Asllani, who won the WSL with Manchester City, and five-time Women’s Champions League winner Saki Kumagai.
Off the field, Kang has relocated the club to Bromley and purchased the 28-acre Cobdown Park in Aylesford, Kent, with the ambition of constructing a centre of excellence for women’s and girls’ football.
Kang is, in the words of forward Izzy Goodwin, a “very powerful woman”.
“It’s great to have her [at our games] and when she’s there, she’s our lucky charm. The things she’s done at this club and the other clubs is great,” Goodwin said.
But for Precheur, who was inspired to join the Lionesses after seeing the transformation at Washington Spirit, Kang’s biggest asset isn’t her investment but her commitment to her vision.
“What she’s doing is amazing and I hope it will inspire other clubs or other rich people to invest in women’s football,” Precheur told BBC Sport.
“We’ve heard many times in the past, people who arrive [and say] we want to be promoted and play in the Champions League. Look at the men’s side, so many examples and so many failures.
“You cannot realise how different it is if you haven’t spoken with Michele. She knows what she wants and when she says something, she does it.
“When we have this kind of support, everything becomes possible. It has to come from the top if you want to breed a winning culture.”
