Michele Kang knows the question is coming before it is even asked.
No, she never imagined she'd own one women's soccer team, let alone three. But Kang knows a good investment when she sees it.
“I really fell in love with the game and the potential. I saw the potential where it was and where it could be,” she said. "I am just grateful for this opportunity to be a catalyst and sort of a match that could light a fire.”
Kang owns the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League, the London City Lionesses in England's Women's Super League and OL Lyonnes in the French Premier League. All three are accomplished teams, with the Lionesses promoted last year from the Women's Championship, the Spirit raising the NWSL championship trophy in 2021, and Lyon winning a record eight Women's Champions League titles and 18 league titles.
Multi-club owners are not unusual on the men's side of the game: There's City Group, which owns Manchester City in the English Premier League and a number of other teams, and Austria's Red Bull, which owns several teams including RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga.
But on the women's side, it's more of a rarity, and it is certainly unusual to own three teams in three top-tier leagues. Kang also took over as president of Olympique Lyonnais on the men’s side last year.
"My model is, because of where women’s soccer is in terms of its development relative to men’s, my multi-club model is very different than the men’s multi-club. My model is really respecting each club’s legacy," she said. "So it is to really give them what they need, the basic and the important things, and see how far they go.”
Kang's influence extends beyond team ownership: She's a globe-trotting pied piper for women's soccer. She upped the ante for big-name player signings by luring Swedish international Kosovare Asllani to London City before the team was promoted, and more recently helped to make sure U.S. star Trinity Rodman re-signed with the Spirit. She's also a philanthropist who has funded projects with U.S. Soccer that include dedicated research on female athletes to develop best training practices and prevent injuries.
Kang, who was born in South Korea, founded medical technology company Cognosante, which she sold in 2024. Forbes has estimated her worth at $1.2 billion.
She joined the soccer world when she bought a minority stake in the Spirit in late 2020, then acquired the team outright in 2022. She acquired Lyon and London City the next year, and in 2024 put all three teams under the umbrella of her Kynisca Sports International, a women-led global sports organization.
"I'm obviously excited that we were a part of her origin story,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said. “Obviously, her first major investment was through the Washington Spirit, and I think it's fair to say she fell in love with women's soccer through the NWSL, and now she's spreading that love all around the world.”
Kang's influence was highlighted recently when the Spirit reached a contract agreement with Rodman.
“I am incredibly grateful, and I’m very glad it’s over that she’s staying with a positive outcome,” Kang said. “This is one of the most important contracts ever, not just for the Spirit, but for the league as well. So I was very involved and in terms from strategy to every turn, every little challenge we had.”
Rodman, who has been with the Spirit since 2021, became a free agent at the end of last season. The team was eager to re-sign her, but the league's salary cap was hindering the process.
One agreement between the two sides was scuttled by the league before the creation of a “High Impact Player” rule that allows teams to go $1 million over the cap to sign players who meet certain criteria.
Using the rule, the Spirit were able to eventually re-sign Rodman, though the rule is now the subject of a grievance by the players' union.
“She believes in women’s sports so much, especially soccer,” Rodman said. “Just how much she’s committed to us and having an owner that commits that much, you kind of are forced to like work 10 times harder, so having that support has been amazing.”
Kang is also dedicated to the science and technology behind women's sports, recognizing the need for innovation in areas like training, performance and recovery. Relying on the practices used by men's soccer is untenable, she said, because “women are not small men.”
In 2024, she pledged $30 million to U.S. Soccer, the single-largest investment for women's programs in the federation's history. More recently, her Kynisca Innovation Hub was merged with the federation's Soccer Forward Program to further research and innovation in women's sports. The Kang Women's Institute was announced in December.
"(We're) really kind of flipping this on its head and essentially saying, ‘OK, how we always used to do things for women and girls soccer? Actually, that was a transfer from the men’s game.’ What does this look like if we’re just starting with a completely blank sheet of paper of what’s best for a female player,” said Lex Chalat, head of the Soccer Forward Foundation.
Kang's vision is practical: Athletes and their performance are at the core of her business.
“One of the problems with women’s football is that there are a lot of anecdotal little projects here and there, but nothing is done at scale. And unless you can do these types of things at scale, it’s just a thousand flowers bloom and they all die and nothing happens," Kang said. "So I wanted to make sure that this is done properly at scale once. There’s no reason why multiple organizations need to do this. We can combine.”
Kang's philosophy aligns with U.S. national team coach Emma Hayes, who said she's never met anyone quite like Kang.
“It’s easy to look at the dollars that are being put in by her, but actually, if you meet her and you get to know her, she’s so passionate about women’s football globally, and she’s so determined to play a significant part," Hayes said, "not just in shaping the next direction for the women’s game and leading the way with that investment, but her commitment to research, to education, to developing the insights that go back to the equity piece that is going to have a bigger impact on the broader game.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE 0 American businesswoman Michele Kang, owner of Olympique Lyonnais, arrives for the Europa League soccer league phase draw in Monaco, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani, File)
FILE - American businesswoman Michele Kang, owner of Olympique Lyonnais, on the tribune to watch the women's Champions League semifinals, first leg, soccer match between Arsenal FC and Olympique Lyonnais at the Arsenal Stadium, in London, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Iran launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries Monday, hours after Iranian state TV said Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country’s late supreme leader and long considered a contender, had been named his successor.
Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader and the younger Khamenei will have a central say in the war strategy.
Oil prices skyrocketed Monday, leading to more worries that higher energy costs will fuel inflation and lead to less spending by U.S. consumers, the main engine of the economy. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged as much as 7% in early Monday trading, while other Asian markets also tumbled.
Saudi Arabia sharpened its warnings to Iran, telling Tehran Monday it would be the “biggest loser” if it continues to attack Arab states. The Saudi statement came after a new drone attack apparently targeted its massive Shaybah oil field.
Here is the latest:
In naming Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader, the Assembly of Experts and Iranian state media referred to him as “ayatollah,” one of the highest titles given to clerics within Shiite Islam. Khamenei’s father, Ali, similarly became an ayatollah with his appointment as supreme leader in 1989.
French President Emmanuel Macron says Group of Seven nations could dip into their emergency oil stockpiles in response to soaring energy prices.
Speaking to reporters en route to a visit to Cyprus, Macron said “the use of strategic reserves is an envisaged option.” He said G7 leaders could meet this week to coordinate a response to climbing energy prices, expected via a call or a video conference. France currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7 group.
Separately, finance ministers from the G7 nations are meeting Monday afternoon by video conference to discuss the repercussions from the Iran war.
The man was killed in an attack that targeted central Israel.
It marked the first death from missiles in Israel in a week.
China’s government said the authorities “have noted” the reports of Iran naming Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader and called on all parties to go back to negotiations to avoid further escalation.
“This is a decision made by the Iranian side in accordance with the country’s constitution,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Monday.
He added that “China opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs under any pretext” and said that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran “should be respected.”
Around 70,000 Syrians have crossed the border from Lebanon “under duress in a rush to Syria because they were so afraid of what is happening in Lebanon,” Karolina Lindholm Billing, the representative of the U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon, said Monday.
Lebanon was at one point hosting more than 1 million Syrian refugees, but the numbers have declined, particularly since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024. Today around 532,000 registered refugees remain, with potentially hundreds of thousands more believed to be unregistered.
The United States and Iran have offered sharply different accounts of the sinking of an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
Washington has rejected Tehran’s claim that the warship IRIS Dena was unarmed when it was sunk in a submarine attack near Sri Lankan waters on March 4.
In a statement Sunday on X, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command called Iran’s assertion that the vessel was unarmed “false.”
Iranian officials say the vessel was operating in a noncombat role as it returned home after taking part in a naval exercise in India.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said last week the warship was “unarmed.”
Israel said Monday it has carried out airstrikes in Beirut.
The Israeli army earlier Monday said it would operate against targets associated with the Hezbollah-linked financial institution al-Qard Al-Hasan. It repeated the warning to residents of Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb to flee.
Israel says Hezbollah uses al-Qard al-Hasan to finance its military activities.
Smoke billowed over Beirut after the attacks. The first strike destroyed a building housing an office of al-Qard al-Hasan in the southern suburb of Chiyah.
Israel’s military targeted several branches of al-Qard al-Hasan in southern and eastern Lebanon last week.
During the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, Israel’s military carried strikes that destroyed more than a dozen branches of al-Qard al-Hasan across Lebanon.
Emirati authorities have reported another missile attack in the capital, Abu Dhabi, urging people to remain in safe locations.
Israel has identified another launch on northern Israel shortly after a previous warning of an incoming missile attack from Iran on Monday.
Israel said in a new warning Monday that it has identified missiles launched from Iran toward northern and southern Israel.
Sirens sounded in Israel warning of a missile attack from Iran for the sixth time Monday.
Bangladesh on Monday closed all universities, bringing forward the break for Eid al-Fitr as part of emergency measures to conserve electricity during the conflict in the Middle East.
The South Asian country, which depends on imports for 95% of its energy requirements, already has experienced instances of panic buying. Car owners and drivers have struggled to collect fuel as shortages are reported.
The government has shut most fertilizer factories, redirecting available gas to power plants to avoid widespread outages.
Islam’s biggest festival is expected to be held either March 20 or 21, depending on the moon sighting, at the end of a month-long fasting ritual.
Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud urged people to remain calm, saying Bangladesh has sufficient fuel stocks.
The capital of the United Arab Emirates came under Iranian attack Monday, with two people hurt by shrapnel from interceptions in Abu Dhabi, authorities said.
South Korea says it will cap oil prices for the first time since 1997 to stabilize soaring fuel costs driven by the war.
Kim Yong-beom, the presidential policy chief of staff, said in a briefing Monday that Seoul plans to introduce the caps sometime this week.
The government did not immediately provide details on how the caps would be structured and operated.
The move will help make fuel prices more predictable and prevent refineries and gas stations from raising prices “abnormally,” Kim said.
The Korea National Oil Corporation says it is holding several months’ worth of strategic oil reserves at nine storage facilities across South Korea, a stockpile that exceeds the International Energy Agency’s recommendation of 90 days.
South Korea last released its strategic reserves, which are used to address serious supply disruptions, in 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shocked global energy markets.
India’s foreign minister says two Indian mariners have been killed during the war.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar confirmed the deaths in an address to India’s parliament Monday and said the victims were working on merchant shipping operating near the conflict zone.
One sailor was still missing, he said.
The minister did not give further details of the vessels involved.
“This ongoing conflict is an issue of particular concern for India,” Jaishankar said, explaining that nearly 10 million Indians live and work in Gulf countries.
The region also is central to India’s energy security and trade, accounting for nearly $200 billion annually in commerce, he said.
Jaishankar reiterated that India favors peace in the region and urged a return to dialogue and diplomacy.
“We advocate de-escalation, restraint and ensuring the safety of civilians,” he said.
Turkey has deployed six F-16 jets and air defense systems to the Turkish-Cypriot part of the divided island of Cyprus to bolster its security, the defense ministry said.
A ministry statement said Monday additional measures would be taken if deemed necessary.
A British air base on Cyprus’ southern coastline was hit by a drone last week.
Ankara maintains some 30,000 troops in northern Cyprus, which broke away from the Greek south in 1974. Turkey is the only country to recognize the northern administration.
Iran’s judiciary reiterated it can order the assets of “enemies” abroad seized in the country.
It made the announcement Monday on the judiciary’s Mizan news agency.
Reporters for Farsi-language media abroad have seen their assets seized over the years.
The report also said “any intelligence or espionage activity conducted” abroad for the Israeli or U.S. governments “could lead to the confiscation of all assets and even the death penalty.”
A barrage of drones was fired toward Saudi Arabia early Monday, hours after an attack killed two Bangladeshi nationals in the kingdom.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said it intercepted drones in the northern Jawf region, as well as the vast Shaybah oil field.
Late Sunday an attack in the central city of Kharj killed the two Bangladeshi nationals and wounded 12 others. All but one was from from Bangladesh.
As Iranian state television reported on the ascension of Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader, it referred to him as being wounded in war.
State TV on air described him as “janbaz,” or wounded by the enemy, in the “Ramadan war,” which is how media in Iran refer to the current conflict.
However, later an analyst on air suggested Khamenei’s wounding could have been during his service in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
The differing accounts could not be immediately reconciled.
Khamenei’s father and his wife were killed in the Feb. 28 Israeli airstrike in Tehran at the start of the war. Khamenei has yet to be seen since the war began. He was announced as Iran’s new supreme leader on Monday.
Mourners carry the bodies of Hezbollah fighters who were killed by Israeli airstrikes during their funeral procession in Khraibeh village, eastern Lebanon, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Israeli tanks are parked in a staging area in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, Israel, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
This image taken from video provided by Iran state TV shows Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's slain supreme leader, who has been named as the Islamic Republic's next ruler, authorities announced Monday, March 9, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
Flames rise from an oil storage facility south of the capital Tehran as strikes hit the city during the U.S.–Israel military campaign, Iran, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
