Just 18 hours before kick‑off in south London, the London City Lionesses’ owner, Michele Kang, was at Audi Field in Washington DC celebrating a 96th-minute winner for another of the clubs she owns, Washington Spirit, in the National Women’s Soccer League. But an owner flying in via a private jet was just the first of a host of new-era elements to this rather star-studded start to the Women’s Championship season.
Kang, who watched yesterday’s opening 1-1 draw at home against Newcastle United in the company of several senior figures in women’s football, including the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited’s chief executive, Nikki Doucet, has injected cash into this relatively little-known club and has started work on a new elite-level training facility in Kent, as well as a plethora of high-quality transfers. She has two simultaneous visions: to try ultimately to win the WSL and also prove that women’s sport is not charity but a thriving business.
