US businesswoman Michele Kang has announced the launch of Kynisca Sports International Ltd., the first global multi-team women’s football organization. The name is inspired by Spartan princess Cynisca, the first woman to win in the ancient Olympic Games. Kang owns the women’s football teams Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, London City Lionesses and Washington Spirit. Indeed, the Kynisca story starts by bringing together these three clubs.
While preserving each club’s unique identity, Kynisca Sports International, headquartered in London, will support female athletes with state-of-the-art facilities, technical staff, and innovative sports science through the Kynisca Innovation Hub, the project’s core. Kang will reportedly contribute $50 million in combined seed funding and matching funds to support the Kynisca Innovation Hub.
Kang was born and raised in South Korea. She moved to the US as a student to pursue her advanced education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in public and private management from the Yale School of Management. She was named to Sports Illustrated’s Power List 2023: 50 Most Influential Figures in Sports. As an art-loving philanthropist, she also currently serves as a trustee on the boards of the Washington National Opera and the Norton Museum of Art.
