Spirit owner Michele Kang takes over Lyon, to start network of women's clubs
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A year after purchasing the Washington Spirit for $35 million, Y. Michele Kang is making another big splash in the women’s soccer world. Kang on Tuesday announced the creation of a multi-club organization that will bring together the Spirit and French club Olympique Lyonnais, an eight-time Champions League winner, as the first teams in a network of women’s soccer clubs stretching around the globe. It is the first woman-owned, women-led multi-club organization of its kind.
“It’s critical because now you’re going to see the level of investments that are going to go in and we can ensure that others will come along,” Kang said in an interview. “This is not just about the Spirit. This is not just about OL. This is about bringing women’s soccer to that level so that young girls growing up all around the world can see it and be inspired and say, ‘I’m going to go into professional soccer.’ ”
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The new entity will consist of Kang’s majority share of the Spirit and the Lyon women’s team, contributed by OL Groupe, the French club’s parent company. Kang, the founder of a health-care technology company, will be the majority owner and CEO of the yet-to-be-named organization.
Kang will hold a 52 percent stake in the Lyon women’s team, which has been reportedly valued at 50 million euros ($54.4 million). OL Groupe will, for now, hold the remaining 48 percent and continue to oversee Lyon’s men’s team, separate from the women’s operation. (Kang will sit on OL Groupe’s board and is a minority shareholder in Eagle Football Holdings, the investment vehicle of OL Groupe chairman John Textor.)
Since 2020, OL Groupe has also owned OL Reign, a Seattle-based NWSL club. Tuesday’s announcement confirmed that OL Groupe is selling the Reign, removing any potential conflict of interest regarding Kang’s ownership of both the Spirit and Lyon.
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The deal is subject to approval by the NWSL and by various third parties in France and should be completed by the end of June.
Upon taking over the Spirit in 2022, Kang publicly pledged to build not only the best women’s soccer team but the best sports team in the world. From that time last year, she said, she was aware her vision would require resources and investment beyond the scope of one single club.
“Our female players, whether in France or England or the U.S., they are the best. They’re World Cup winners and Olympic gold medalists, and yet their playing environments, practice environments, are inferior to what their male counterparts’ are. That’s not right,” Kang said. “And I think that’s what I really wanted to [address]. And to do that, you have to build a sort of single organization that can afford the singular attention and focus and build that scale.”
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The multi-club model is not uncommon in international soccer. Austrian energy-drink manufacturer Red Bull owns men’s teams in four countries, and the City Football Group holds stakes in 12 clubs, from Manchester City in the English Premier League to New York City FC in MLS.
As Kang sees it, this global network will allow each member club to leverage its strengths. The Spirit could share best practices about the innovative training methods spurred by head of performance Dawn Scott. Lyon’s successful youth academy could become a model for other teams. In areas from scouting to data analytics to coaching, staffers could move around, gaining exposure to different cultures and styles.
“Michele’s vision to create training and playing environments for women that are equal to their male counterparts and to train women as women will benefit women all over the world,” Mark Krikorian, the Spirit’s president of soccer operations, said in an email. “I’m hoping this will inspire other investors and owners to broaden their commitments to the women’s game.”
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The company will look to acquire other clubs across the top leagues of Europe, the Americas and Asia, Kang said. It could have three to four total clubs under its umbrella by the end of this year.
During their four-season partnership, OL Reign has seen players from Lyon move to the NWSL on loans and adopted a new badge and colors to match those of the French club. Within this network, it’s possible that players move between clubs, Kang said, to optimize each roster rather than feed top players to one specific team.
The Spirit and Lyon will maintain their own names and identities. In March, Washington unveiled a new black-and-white color scheme, but that rebranding process is independent of this deal.
“No one is going to be called ‘Spirit,’ no one is going to be called ‘OL,’ other than OL and the Spirit,” Kang said. “The rebranding effort for the Spirit was just by itself for the Spirit — how do we modernize a little bit and how do we make sure that we reach more fans in the D.C. area?”
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Lyon has built a reputation as one of soccer’s most successful clubs. Under club president Jean-Michel Aulas, it attracted the world’s best players with high salaries and top facilities, winning 15 of the past 16 French league titles. (Aulas is stepping down after 36 years in the role.)
Kang was in attendance as Lyon won the Coupe de France on Saturday, receiving a winner’s medal with the team. Ten hours later, the Spirit earned a 1-0 win over Angel City, extending its unbeaten start to the season and climbing to the top of the NWSL standings.
“Hopefully, it’s exciting for our fans, even in D.C. And I want to make sure that they understand, this is not taking anything away from the Spirit,” Kang said. “This is to make every team even stronger by pulling some of the resources, but local identity, local investment will continue to remain strong.”
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Source: The Washington Post
