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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Suzanne Wrack

Kang’s spending fuels resentment but Barcelona are far from a model club

Kika Nazareth, left, and Mapi León touch the trophy after winning the Champions League final
Kika Nazareth, left, and Mapi León touch the trophy after winning the Champions League final against OL Lyonnes in Oslo. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

It has been a bad week for Michele Kang, the billionaire women’s football investor. On Wednesday the Uefa director of women’s football, Nadine Kessler, was firm on the enforcement of rules prohibiting clubs with the same owner from playing each other in European competitions, dealing a blow to Kang, who has ambitions of taking London City Lionesses into Europe’s premier competition, but also owns the tournament’s most decorated side, OL Lyonnes.

Then, across the weekend, Kang teams suffered two continental final defeats, with Lyonnes losing 4-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League final before her US outfit, Washington Spirit, fell short in the Concacaf W Champions Cup with a 5-3 reverse to the Mexican side Club América.

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