CEO makes largest donation ever to ‘undervalued’ US Soccer women’s and girls’ programs

Businesswoman and philanthropist Michele Kang made a historic donation to women’s football.

Kang, owner of the professional soccer team Washington Spirit, donated $30 million to U.S. Soccer’s girls and women’s programs, the organization announced Tuesday. This is the largest donation made by a woman to the football community as well as girls and women’s football.

In a press release, Kang said she hopes the donation will encourage other donors to invest in women’s sports.

“Women’s sports have been underestimated and ignored for too long,” Kang said.

According to the press release, Kang’s donation will help the organization fund camps specifically for women and girls, increasing the number of camps it currently runs to six per age group.

The funds will also help expand US Soccer’s digital talent identification platform and create 100,000 openings for female players by doubling the number of players recruited to the youth national team. The statement also stated that the donation will be used to add 70,000 female coaches and referees, which will double the number of female professionals today.

“Michele Kang’s gift will transform soccer for women and girls in the United States,” said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. “This will impact generations of women and girls in our game, including players, coaches and referees.”

Kang, who is also the founder and CEO of Kynisca, a global organization dedicated to women’s soccer, made history in 2022 by becoming the first black woman to own a team in the US National Women’s Soccer League. It also owns Olympique Lyonnais, a women’s football team playing in France, and the London City Lionesses in England.

When Kang first got involved in the sport two years ago, he told CNBC that it was immediately clear to him that there was “tremendous potential” in the field.

“I’m actually surprised that a lot of people haven’t seen it,” Kang told CNBC.

She told the media she hopes to continue investing in teams globally and inspire girls in many countries.

“This is also about making sure young girls around the world know that this is not a phenomenon unique to the US, UK and France,” Kang said. “When I build a team in these countries, I will bring the same infrastructure, technology and talent to these countries, so they can feel: ‘If I can do my best, I can be the next Alex Morgan.’”