Women’s sport: Michele Kang announces $50m investment

Michele Kang, the owner of three football clubs including the London City Lionesses, has announced a $50m (£39.2m) global investment in improving the health of elite female athletes.

Kang, who also owns eight-time women’s European champions Lyon in France and Washington Spirit in the US, said she hopes the venture will mark “a new era for female athletic potential” and “drive lasting change”.

She has set up a venture called Kynisca to run the project and this week announced the first investment – $4m (£3.14m) for the USA women’s rugby sevens programme.

“Kynisca will become a pioneer of female performance research so we can stop training women as if they are simply small men and unlock their true potential,” Kang said.

It is understood the money will be used to help provide the best playing and training environments, appointing world-class technical staff, and driving innovation and sports science.

Bill Goren, the chief executive of USA Rugby, said the organisation was “stunned and beyond grateful for this transformative gift”.

Kang said she will aim to bring together the resources and knowledge at her current clubs whilst also investing in projects in Africa, the United States, Asia and Europe.

“We will provide opportunities for girls and women worldwide to access high-level sport and reach their potential under the best conditions,” she said.

“Significant resources will be devoted to developing capabilities that will be shared across all teams, such as performance science and technology, data analytics, global scouting, and sporting staff development.”