Kang uses the term “catalyst” to describe her hope for the business model. Perhaps other current owners will join her in doubling down on investments into more teams. Or maybe her ambition simply signals to another businessperson that they should get involved in the sport at all, she suggested.
“I’m hoping that others will see our success, assuming that we are going to be successful, that others will follow that path and more people are going to invest in teams in Europe, South America, Asia — women’s teams,” Kang said. “One can’t do it all by oneself, so more people joining this — I’m hoping that this will be a catalyst, that other people can say, ‘Oh I can do that, too. OL is now part of this, maybe I’ll go get the next best team or another best team.’ I want this to be copied and followed. That’s what it’s all about. I want more money to come in globally.
“I think soccer is the most global game and women’s soccer, in my opinion, is very different from the men’s game. Different level of excitement, different type of game.”
A unique opportunity often discussed in the women’s soccer community is the clean slate still offered. Relative to the globalized, commercialized men’s game, women’s soccer is still fledgling. There lies an opportunity to borrow best practices from the men’s game while avoiding the issues that plague it.
A major criticism of the Red Bull and City Football Group multiteam models, particularly regarding their U.S. squads, is the perceived hierarchy of teams within those businesses. Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls and New York City FC will never be prioritized over Europe’s RB Leipzig or Manchester City, respectively. Manchester City’s men’s team just won the treble — all to the backdrop of sanctions alleging extensive rule breaking.
Kang said that is “absolutely not” the model being undertaken with her organization. Still, creating a truly equal playing field for each team within the business could prove challenging.
The Spirit won the NWSL Championship in 2021 and the team has made significant strides as a business under Kang’s leadership. Lyon, however, has been the standard-bearer in women’s soccer over the past decade, welcoming a steady who’s-who of world stars. How will those in Lyon feel long term about even the perception of the U.S. being the home of the parent organization, and the hub from which central ideas are born?
Former club president and former owner Jean-Michel Aulas guided Olympique Lyonnais for the past 36 years. His commitment to the women’s team to create a juggernaut predated the current flood of investment around women’s soccer. Lyon players have long been vocal about Aulas’ commitment to the women’s team: he left his post last month to a wave of praise from players.
“I hope that OL will continue to invest in their women’s team in the long term, even if Jean-Michel Aulas is no longer there,” Lyon and Norway forward Ada Hegerberg, the inaugural women’s Ballon d’Or winner in 2018, told Le Monde.
It has left several questions in Seattle, specifically, but also around the seemingly related sales. Kang told ESPN that the sale of the Reign is not a contingency for closing her deal to purchase Lyon women, and that she is not involved in the sale of her rival NWSL team.
“It’s my understanding that the Reign sale was contemplated before we started having this conversation,” Kang said, referencing her purchase of Lyon women. “That’s a totally different part of the OL side. I have nothing to do with it; I have no visibility whatsoever. Our deal is spinning off, totally separating OL Fem’s business from OL, which is what we’ll be taking on. So, there is really no relationship whatsoever. That’s going to be totally separate. OL Reign sale, as I understand it, is in progress and that has nothing to do with the separation of the French soccer team.”
Kang is focused on the Spirit, Lyon and the next move in building what she believes is a new club model for the women’s game. The task is all-consuming, one that has already seen her shuttle between France and the U.S. over the past few months.
“Once I was in it, I am absolutely passionate about it,” Kang said. “I see an incredible future, and I say this to everyone: women’s soccer is not a charity. It is not some corporation’s DEI project. I want to treat it as a real business, and I want everyone else to see it as a business. Our players are the best of the best and they should not be treated like some kind of non-profit or DEI project.
“My goal was really to build women’s soccer and make the necessary investment. Just like Silicon Valley, any other business, we can all sit here and talk about how much we support women’s soccer, but if no one is going to write the check and start investing, it’s just not going to go anywhere.”
