Kang’s influence has grown rapidly amid a wave of renewed investment and interest in women’s sport.
In the summer of 2020, a diverse group of owners, including actors Natalie Portman and Eva Longoria, football legend Mia Hamm, and tennis great Serena Williams, will bring team Angel City FC to Los Angeles. announced the creation of 2022 will also see the addition of another expansion club, the San Diego Wave. An additional club, Racing Louisville FC, will join the league in 2021, while the Utah Royals have been sold and their assets moved to Kansas City’s new franchise, Current. The Utah Royals are set to return to the NWSL for the 2024 season, along with another expansion club, Bay FC. The league, now in its 11th season, is already considering further expansion.
None of this comes as a surprise to Kang, who seems stunned if not frustrated that some people underestimate the women’s professional soccer league and why investments are being delayed.
“I have total respect for the people who have supported the team,” she continued, speaking of past NWSL owners. “But it was viewed as a charitable or non-profit organization and from my standpoint no business discipline was applied.”
That attitude is justified in a unique way, said Natalie L. Smith, an associate professor of sports management at East Tennessee State University who studies women’s soccer.
If Angel City demonstrates legitimacy through celebrities, Kang will demonstrate value through business investments, which will send a message to other potential investors, she said.
An economist at the University of Michigan,soccernomics“One is clearly the rise of women’s football, which has been long overdue but now seems to be moving very rapidly. The second is football ownership and clubs. The way we operate in general is being transformed around the world.”
