By MCS Staff | MoCoShow
U.S. Soccer announced a historic gift today for its women’s and girls’ soccer programs from businesswoman, team owner, and women’s sports advocate Michele Kang. Kang has pledged to give U.S. Soccer, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, $30 million dollars over the next five years which is the largest philanthropic investment in U.S. Soccer’s women’s and girls’ programs and the most generous donation ever made to U.S. Soccer by a woman, according to a Washington Spirit press release.
The investment from Kang will scale competitive opportunities for youth players, expand and improve talent identification, and fuel professional development for female players, coaches, and referees. The Washington Spirit shared that “This gift builds upon Ms. Kang’s historic investments in women’s sports. As the founder and CEO of Kynisca, the first multi-team global organization dedicated to women’s soccer, she owns the Washington Spirit, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, and London City Lionesses. Kang is also an investor in Just Women’s Sports and IDA Sports and has donated to the USA women’s rugby sevens team. This gift furthers the momentum created with Arthur M. Blank’s significant lead donation toward U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center, which will bear his name.
“Michele Kang’s gift will transform soccer for women and girls in the United States,” said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. “It will impact generations of women and girls in our game, including players, coaches, and referees. I know firsthand the power soccer can have in someone’s life and thanks to Michele, we will be able to provide more support and opportunities for women and girls.”
“Women’s sports have been undervalued and overlooked for far too long,” said Kang. “I am committed to raising the standard of excellence in women’s soccer — both on and off the pitch — by delivering the resources female athletes need to reach their full potential and surround them with the professional support they deserve. I hope this investment serves as ‘seed capital’ and spurs other donors to follow suit.”
The gift will help U.S. Soccer scale its talent identification tools, talent, and camps, providing more opportunities to more players. Kang’s investment will help U.S. Soccer ensure everyone has an opportunity to be seen and no player slips through the cracks. It will allow U.S. Soccer to double the number of National Team camps it currently runs, equating to six camps per age group for Youth National Teams. Ms. Kang’s gift will specifically fund camps for women and girls. It will also help build out U.S. Soccer’s digital talent identification platform, bringing 12 times the number of players into the Youth National Team pipeline, giving access to 100,000 female players.
The generous gift will also provide more professional development opportunities, including education and mentorship, to an additional 70,000 female coaches and referees, doubling the number of female coaches and referees in the game. “I believe a gift like this will change the trajectory of the sport,” said U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team head coach Emma Hayes. “We’re in a pivotal moment for soccer in the U.S. and this will help us support more female players, coaches and referees in the game.”