Michele Kang, owner of the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) Washington Spirit, is investing $25 million into the overall research and development of the women's game in the US.
Kang is also the owner of Kynisca, a women’s soccer-dedicated research body launched last July, and announced the funding – to be carried out through Kynisca – at the SheBelieves Summit in Los Angeles alongside JT Batson, chief executive of US Soccer.
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The funding comes as part of a wider move to integrate the Kynisca Innovation Hub into the Soccer Forward Foundation vehicle run by US Soccer.
It also comes following Kang having already pledged $30 million to US Soccer last November, to be used by the body over the next five years.
The Washington Spirit owner said: “This integration represents a major step forward in advancing research and setting new standards for women’s sports. By working together, we ensure that players at all levels benefit from innovative insights and best practices. Women’s soccer is experiencing historic growth, but there’s still work to be done to break down systemic barriers and secure the investment needed for female athletes.”
Kang has owned the Spirit since February 2022, and has subsequently added the London City Lionesses (England) and Olympique Lyonnais Feminin (France) teams to her portfolio. This, at the time the Lyon deal went through, created the first multi-club ownership group in women’s soccer (now joined by Monarch Collective, which has controlling stakes in three NWSL teams).
Cindy Parlow Cone, president of US Soccer, added that through “integrating Kynisca Innovation Hub talent into Soccer Forward, we can drive real change through research-backed standards that support players at every level.”
A US Soccer release has claimed that the new funding will be challenged through research around how to produce better health outcomes in women's soccer, and also on how to implement best practice standards in the women's game.
This specific investment represents the largest investment in Soccer Forward since that body was launched in mid-2024.
The national body has said that the investment "will contribute to US Soccer’s goal as it plans to co-host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2031.”
Late last week, the US bid to host that women’s soccer tournament was unveiled as the only hosting submission by global soccer’s governing body FIFA.
The US Soccer and Mexican Soccer Federations announced that they would be lodging a joint bid for the 2031 tournament last April, abandoning potential plans to bid for 2027 hosting rights in the process (that tournament was then allocated to Brazil).
A formal vote on the hosts of both the 2031 and 2035 Women’s World Cups will take place at a FIFA Congress in 2026.
