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’ program in the organization’s 111-year history.
The donation, announced by U.S. Soccer on Monday morning, is also the largest donation ever made to the organization by a woman. 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 Olympique Lyonnais Femenin and the London City Lionesses, 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 investor in companies like Just Women’s Sports and IDA Sports.
Kang’s investment follows the trend of wealthy businesspeople investing in U.S. Soccer, following recent major investments by Arthur Blank and Ken Griffin.
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 said. “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 U.S. Soccer double the number of National Team camps it runs, and help build out their digital talent identification platform. The organization expects this to bring “12 times” the number of player 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,” said USWNT head coach Emma Hayes 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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