Michele Kang believes London City Lionesses’ planned training ground will raise the bar in the women’s game – and eclipse the facilities used by several Premier League clubs.
Kang has invested heavily in the WSL side as she bids to make London City a dominant force in women’s football.
Her intent was clear over the summer, as the club made several high-profile signings, none more impressive than the capture of two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas.
Off the pitch, Kang is being similarly bullish. In an interview with BBC Sport, she revealed a purpose-built training centre is expected to open within the next year.
“We’re building a state-of-the-art training centre for our female athletes dedicated to them, built and designed for them, which will open in less than a year,” she said.
“Our architect, who has built several Premier League training centres, told me that by the time the London City training centre is up and running, it would be better than the majority of Premier League men’s teams’ training centres.”
Michele Kang Aims to Close the Gap Between Men’s and Women’s Football
Michele Kang didn’t pull her punches when comparing how female athletes are treated to their male counterparts. She views investment in infrastructure as crucial in levelling the playing field.
“How could you possibly accept the notion that your girls, your daughters, granddaughters, sisters are treated as second-class citizens where in the same sport the boys go to play as if it’s their birthright?” she continued.
“We have to take care of our female players better so that they can train, perform, and thrive as female athletes, not small men.
“You drive your boy to a state-of-the-art training centre, and then, if you’re lucky enough to have a facility nearby, you drive your girl somewhere else. Why would you accept that?”
Michele Kang Credits Her Upbringing
Kang says her beliefs stem from her childhood in South Korea and the influence of her father, who went against the grain of traditional views.
“My father had only three girls. It was maybe a necessity,” she added.
“I was growing up in South Korea, where it was still a very traditional society, where girls had certain roles.
“He said in this day and age it doesn’t matter whether you’re a girl or a boy; whatever you want to do, you have to put 100% of what you have and you can go for it. And if you don’t achieve, you have only yourself to blame.”
Kang, whose first experience with women’s football was with Washington Spirit, says those lessons have helped shape her career.
“I’m grateful that I achieved my American dream. And this is my way of giving back so that I don’t want, quite frankly, a lot of young girls growing up going through what I went through.
“I want them to be able to focus on what they have to do to be the best football player, not having to worry about changing clothes in the middle of a public park or broken equipment – all those types of things.”
Not Just a Training Facility
London City’s training centre is also expected to support research into female athlete health, which Michele Kang believes has been overlooked for decades.
“There are more ACL injuries among female players. (To the) tune of two or three times more female players getting ACL injuries than male players,” she said.
“Something like 94% of all scientific medical research is dedicated to men. So there’s just fundamentally so little known about the female body.”
As a strong advocate for independent women’s clubs, her ambitions extend far beyond London.
Through her multi-club ownership model, which is becoming particularly prevalent in the men’s game, Kang wants the standards being established at London City to spread across the globe.
She’s already involved with clubs in England, France and the United States, but has plans to snap up more in almost every continent.
“I would like to buy a team in Asia. I would like to buy a team in Africa. I would like to buy a team in South America.
“I want all the girls in those countries to grow up thinking that this kind of best, best facilities and best practices and unbelievable infrastructure is not something that they can only watch on TV because they’re only in England, France, America, but it’s in their backyard.”
Kang wants the “indefensible gap” between the girls’ and boys’ journey to disappear. Addressing the rest of the WSL, she said: “Invest.”
