This summer will be the summer of London’s city lionesses. The question hovering over the women’s football ecosystem in recent weeks is how far can this less than ten-year-old club go under the patronage of Michelle Kanga? Will he become the flagship of your Kynisca holding, replacing OL Lyonnes, the most winning one in history? How can signing a two-time Ballon d’Or winner like Alexia Putellas impact your business? The team relegated to the Women’s Super League (WSL) in 2024–25 with revenues of less than £920,000. (€1.1 million) and has made losses of £15.7 million (€18.3 million) since its founding in 2019, according to data obtained from Intelligence 2P, the strategy and market intelligence arm of 2Playbook.
The bulk of these red numbers were assumed to be between 2023 and 2025, just after Michelle Kanga arrived at the club. In December 2023, an American businesswoman bought the club from Diana Culligan and saved it from a very sticky situation. Since then, it has made capital investments of approximately €26 million. The players went so far as to ask Culligan to sell the club, and Kang took the reins. While maintaining distance, this operation is similar to the one signed a few days ago in Lyon, where He saved Olympic from bankruptcy, which Eagle almost led the historic French club to.
Constant capital investments
In the UK, Kang chose the first independent women’s football club in London. Born in the women’s section of Millwall Football Club.. To begin with, the great patron of women’s football worldwide contributed £9.9 million (€11.5 million) to balance the finances and give the project its first impetus.
By then the club had suffered losses of almost £3 million (€3.5 million) during their four years in goal in the elite. For his first season he took a red fee of £2.5 million (€2.9 million). For In the next campaign, the 2024–25 campaign, the deficit rose to £10.6 million (€12.3 million).. Total income: less than £920,000 (€1.1 million). The instability was total, but Kang understood that access to a reformed and improved WSL was a must. In his first two years in charge of London City, Kang made losses of £13 million (€15 million).
To compensate for the huge losses expected to be achieved in the First Division, Kang invested a further £12.5 million (€14.5 million) in 2024-25. In just two years, the businesswoman has already contributed £22.4 million (€26 million).This is evidenced by 2P intelligence data.
It remains to be seen how much equity capital will be contributed in the recently concluded financial year, the first in the top category. Considering the performance they already had in the second division and the improvement primarily due to television and sponsorship (promotion to the elite helped them sign a contract with Nike, Togethxr (main sponsor) and Mastercard), The London City Lionesses business is worth almost £3 million (€3.5 million). This is small compared to the Big Six, where turnover averages around 11 million, but for this Kang expects such a large investment. Bromley’s Copperjax Community Stadium averages just over 3,000 spectators per game and has a social media following of 111,000 between Instagram, X and TikTok.
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Golden signatures
Recently, sources who know the women’s football market better than anyone else confirmed the arrival of Alexia Putellas in an independent team in London. Kang would convince him to join the project and expand the Catalan striker’s legacy in women’s football. Signing a two-time Ballon d’Or winner and one of the most popular players off the field.will be a huge boost to the Lionesses project.
It looks like Kang has her sights set on Barcelona, the top women’s soccer team in recent years, and her plan is to sign her talent. As the owner of the Washington Spirit (NWSL) and OL Lyon (formerly Lyon), Kang signed Markel Zubizarreta from Barca; Jonathan Giraldes on the bench and players like Ingrid Engen about Jana Fernandez grow on the grass. Giraldes and Engen are currently linked with Lyon, while the third, a young talent from La Masia, signed for London City Lioness last summer. Zubizarreta, as sporting director, brings together all parts of the group’s home: Kiniski.
There he could match up with Putellas, as well as Salma Paralluelo and Mapi Leon.who have already announced their departure from Barça and who are rumored to also be heading down the path to London. Personnel costs are not reflected in the accounts at this time, but it is understood that, judging by the names signed, they will on average this season be close to the €10 million that Europe’s biggest women’s football teams already spend on their sports staff.
New sports city
Added to this strong hidden investment in players is a key development project for the club: a new sports city. It is expected to open its doors by 2027 and generate an economic impact of one million pounds (1.2 million euros). yearbooks in Kent County.
Kang’s other investments in football
As well as being a multi-club project, Kang also exemplifies its long-term commitment to women’s football. For his development, he invested in the US Soccer Federation, a commitment that the organization will lead women’s soccer programs, and in sports retail, it is a shareholder in IDA Sports.a brand specializing in clothing for athletic women. It also has an excellent relationship with FIFA: Kiniska recently became a sponsor of the new Women’s Club World Cup.