As an ambitious multi-club owner Michele Kang wants to see Lyon back at the very top of European women's soccer, and important steps are being taken to achieve that.
From next season the women's team will play all matches at the 59,000-capacity Groupama Stadium, sharing it with the men's side rather than occasionally playing there. The following season, the women’s team will have their own state-of-the-art training campus.
“We are going to set the bar very high,” said Kang, who became majority owner of the French team in May 2023.
South Korea born, US-based Kang leads Kynisca Sports International, a women-led, multi-team global sports organization. Last November, she pledged $30 million to U.S. Soccer over five years for women and girls — the largest single investment specifically for women’s and girl’s programs in the federation’s history.
The French team will take on a new name next season when the women's side becomes OL Lyonnes. This combines the city's name with the French word for a lioness (lionne). A new club logo will feature a roaring lionesses’ head.
“This is not just about name change or logo change," Kang said Monday. “This is about redefining what’s possible for women’s football."
Kang expanded on her vision.
“(To) create our own identity as a woman’s team. Not some afterthought or second class citizen, but our own independent women’s team’s identity," she told The Associated Press ahead of the presentation.
Lyon has huge status in French women's soccer with 18 league titles and beyond as a record eight-time Champions League winner. Although Barcelona has taken over as Europe's No. 1 more recently, and bids for its third straight Champions League title on Sunday, Kang is confident the Catalans will be caught.
Big team, big stadium
Playing permanently at the Groupama Stadium is a crucial development for the women's side.
When Kang assumed majority ownership, she was stunned to see such a successful women's team splitting matches between a flagship stadium and a remote pitch located at the training ground, with a tiny capacity of 1,200 — such a disparity would be inconceivable for a leading men's team.
“That was one of the most surprising things when I first came. The best team in the world, I was surprised they (Lyon) were playing the majority of games at a training center. It is unfitting," Kang told The AP, adding. “We want our fans to be part of our journey, part of our community and you can’t achieve fan engagement by constantly switching back and forth."
Kang took over the Washington Spirit women's team in 2022 when average gates were around 3,000.
“Three seasons later, we have sell outs. We are averaging over 15,000. It takes a lot of work and branding and marketing," Kang said. “It will take several years to get there (with Lyon).”
There is reason to believe Groupama Stadium can sell out for women's games. Last season's Champions League semfinal against archrival Paris Saint-Germain attracted 38,466 spectators.
Female-specific campus
Kang wants the Lyonnes players to have optimal facilities. So the club has worked with architects F3 on a female-specific and polished-looking training campus, which she is financing, to be built with limestone from Lyon and opening in July 2026.
Players across Kang's three teams — she also owns the London Lionesses, recently promoted to the Women’s Super League — were asked what makes for a dedicated training center.
Some players may be pregnant, some have children.
There are other factors, too.
“When you tell female players ‘We’re going to do x, y, and z' female players always want to know why. There are a lot more conversations," Kang said. “So from an architectural perspective they need a lot more space, whether it's an individual space or public space, conducive to conversations.”
The campus aims to incorporate many elements conducive to female wellbeing.
"Apparently there is a lot more natural lighting. Those things are important," Kang told The AP. "This is their lives, it's a significant portion of their everyday life. The living part, the social function, all need to come together.”
A level playing field
“A lot of people are excited about women's football now, they're also very conscious about equity between men's and women's teams,” said Kang, who founded medical technology company Cognosante and venture capital firm Cognosante Ventures.
Forbes estimates Kang's worth at $1.2bn. As well as her $30 million donation to U.S. Soccer for women and girls, in August 2024 her Kynisca Sports organisation set up a $50m (£39.2) global investment fund to help improve the health and performance of elite female athletes.
While Kang strongly advocates for independent decision making in women's soccer, she cautions against misplaced ideas.
“One of the immediate things a lot of people do is to go copy what men are doing. I really think that's the last thing we need to do," she said. "Our fans base is very different, at least currently. We have a lot of young families with young children. It’s a different (matchday) experience.
"We need to build what's best for a women's team (rather than) blindly copying what men have done.” ___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press
