A Korean businessman who didn't even know who Messi was, how did he become Mansour in the 女 soccer field…BBC spotlight
Apr 18, 2025
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On the 17th (Korea Standard Time), the BBC presented the story of Michel under the title of `The soccer mogul who brought new life to Lyon.' They dealt with the process of acquiring Olympique Lyon Feminine (France, hereinafter OLF), an eight-time European Women's Champions League winner, in 2023 and turning it into an independent corporation and his life history.
Shortly after the acquisition of OLF, Michel Kang launched a separate corporation from the men's team and included it in his own 'Kinisca Sports International'. In addition to the OLF, Kinisca Sports International also includes women's soccer teams such as Washington Spirit (USA) and London City Lionesses (UK), which are owned by Michelle Kang.
It's not just the club that took over. The BBC reported that since taking over the club, Michelle Kang has invested 39 million pounds (about 73.5 billion won) to improve player health and plans to build a new stadium and a dedicated training facility. Bangsang Ponceau, who served as OLF CEO after 14 years on the Lyon men's and women's teams, replied "The first line of the Michelle lecture was 'What should we do if the women's players want to receive the same training as the men's team' I need to hire 11 more staff' and the answer was 'Do it'." Two months later, OLF introduced 11 employees and 24 staff, including team doctors, physical therapists, performance coaches, nutritionists, and psychological counselors. "I've never seen such an investment in women's soccer," said U.S. national team captain Lindsey Hipps, who plays for OLF.
Born in Seoul in 1959, Michelle Kang went to study in the U.S. in 1980 when she was a student at Sogang University. After graduating from Chicago University and Yale University, he began his career as an IT-communications management consultant and succeeded in healthcare-related IT business through Northrop Grumman, an aerospace and defense company.
It was in 2019 that he stepped into women's soccer. The invitation to the U.S. national team's women's World Cup victory celebration was an opportunity. Michelle Kang, who acquired a stake in Washington Spirit the following year, became the largest shareholder in 2021. In 2023, it acquired London City following OLF, and established Kinisca in 2024. It is reminiscent of the actions of Mansour bin Zayed Alnayan, a wealthy man from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who acquired teams from all over the world with enormous capital and Manchester City at the center and launched the City Football Group. In addition to the women's soccer team, Michelle Kang also owns the Baltimore Orioles in the U.S. Major League Baseball and the U.S. media specializing in women's sports.
"I didn't even know who Lionel Messi was until I had a relationship with women's soccer," Kang confessed in an interview with the U.S. Financial Times. "When I first met the U.S. women's team, I realized that even though they were the best players in the world, there was a serious lack of support and interest," he said. "With a little stimulation and investment, women's soccer could explode. There are a lot of people who share their passion (for women's soccer) as well as me. World Cup viewers continue to grow, too," he added. "If you ask a lot of female athletes what they want to do first, they want to get more money."Instead of 'I want to play in a stadium full of the best players, teams and spectators. It's my job to fill the stadium."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
