Michele Kang’s $30 million investment in women’s soccer presents a seismic shift in the sport’s future. Over five years, her funding will tackle systemic challenges, from building professional academies to expanding talent pipelines, all with a singular goal: securing U.S. women’s soccer’s global dominance through sustainable growth.
The U.S. women’s national team, long celebrated for its success, operates on a foundation that has struggled to keep pace. Kang’s initiative aims to change that, riding upon the success of last summer’s Gold Medal at the Paris Olympics.
Her plan includes doubling youth development camps, introducing digital scouting tools to identify 100,000 players, and establishing pathways for 10,000 women in coaching, refereeing, and technical roles. Unlike traditional efforts, her approach prioritizes structure over spectacle, focusing on scalable solutions and tailored leadership models for different markets.
“NWSL owners all came in specifically to invest and grow this sport and we have been doing that,” Kang said on the Attacking Third show. “So the results are, I have to say, pretty spectacular in terms of just viewership growing, the attendance growing.”
Kang is the first woman of color to own an NWSL team. “But this is not going to be permanent unless the entire sort of the pyramid structure and the ecosystem is there,” she adds.
Kang’s experience as the former founder and CEO of Cognosante, a healthcare technology company, shapes her systematic approach. Today, she runs Kynisca Sports International, the first global multi-team women’s soccer organization. Under the Kynsica company umbrella, she owns the Spirit, London City Lionesses, and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin.
Known for solving complex logistical challenges, Kang brings the same precision to soccer. High-profile hires like Washington Spirt general manager Mark Krikorian and sports scientist Dawn Scott underscore her commitment to expertise and long-term impact. She also recruited Magic Johnson as a minority shareholder in the Washington Spirit Team’s ownership group.
The Spirit, so-called underdogs, will take on the Orlando Pride in the NWSL Championship this Saturday at Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium.
