Michele Kang, who owns multiple women's soccer clubs, is set to announce the creation of Kynisca Sports International -- which will start “assembling collections” of women’s soccer clubs around the world, according to Andrew Ross Sorkin of the N.Y. TIMES. The name is inspired by Cynisca of Sparta, the first woman to win at an Olympic Games, and Kynisca “intends to assemble teams globally and invest in growing their fan bases and facilities while providing shared resources like training equipment and research, data analytics and scouting support.” For now, Kynisca is backed solely by Kang -- who currently owns French Première Ligue club Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, NWSL club Washington Spirit and English Women's Championship club London City Lionesses. It is a “bet on continued growth in women’s soccer.” But it “remains to be seen how interest in women’s soccer translates into financial success,” at least in the near term. According to Deloitte, revenue at women’s soccer clubs in Europe is growing but profit “is still missing.” Still, Kang suggested that the multi-team approach “would help compound success at the clubs Kynisca eventually assembles” ( N.Y. TIMES, 7/26 ).

Source: International New York Times July 26, 2024 16:45 UTC