Kang: London City Lionesses' new training centre will outclass most Premier League facilities

Michele Kang said the London City Lionesses are building a purpose-built training centre that she expects to open within the next year and that, according to her, it will be better than the majority of men's Premier League clubs' training facilities in an interview with BBC Sport published on 18 September 2026.

Kang, who boosted the Women's Super League side over the summer with significant investment including the signing of two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas, told BBC Sport the centre is being designed specifically for female athletes. "We're building a state-of-the-art training centre for our female athletes dedicated to them, built and designed for them, which will open in less than a year," she said. She added that her architect, who has built several Premier League training centres, "told me that by the time the London City training centre is up and running, it would be better than with the majority of Premier League men's teams training centres."

Kang framed the project as part of a push to end unequal treatment of female players, questioning why girls should be given inferior facilities to boys. She asked: "How could you possibly accept the notion that your girls, your daughters, granddaughters, sisters are treated as second-class citizens where in the same sport the boys go to play as if it's their birthright?" Kang said the club must care for its female players so they can "train, perform, and thrive as female athletes, not small men."

She stressed the practical disparity in facilities, adding: "You drive your boy to a state-of-the-art training centre and then, if you're lucky enough to have a facility nearby, you drive your girl somewhere else. Why would you accept that?" Kang said those inequalities were unacceptable and that dedicated infrastructure is necessary to change them.

Kang said her attraction to London City included the club's independent, women-only model and pointed to her experience in the United States. "My first entree into women's football was Washington Spirit, in the United States, where two thirds of women's teams are independent and not affiliated with men's team. So to me, that's a lot more normal," she said. She added: "I wanted to show that there isn't just one model that the women's team has to be part of the men's team, but an independent team, because I think at that time, London City and Durham, if I'm not mistaken, those are the two, women-only teams."

Kang traced much of her motivation to her upbringing and family, and the lessons from her father about effort and opportunity. She recalled growing up in South Korea and said her father encouraged her to put everything into her goals: "He said in this day and age it doesn't matter whether you're a girl or a boy, whatever you want to do, you have to put 100% of what you have and you can go for it. And if you don't achieve, you have only yourself to blame." She added: "I'm grateful that I achieved my American dream. And this is my way of giving back that I don't want, quite frankly, a lot of young girls growing up going through what I went through."

Kang said the club's training centre will also support research into female athlete health, an area she believes has been neglected. She pointed to injury differences, saying: "There are more ACL, injuries among female players. The tune of two or three times more female players get ACL injuries than male players," and added that "Something like 94% of all science medical research is dedicated to men. So there's just fundamentally so little known about female body."

Kang said her ambitions extend beyond London through a multi-club ownership model that already spans England, France and the United States, and she stated a desire to broaden that footprint. "I would like to buy a team in Asia. I would like to buy a team in Africa. I would like to buy a team in South America," she said, linking those plans to giving girls worldwide access to top facilities. The London City training centre is expected to open in less than a year.