The United States Soccer Federation received a historic $30 million gift from CEO Michele Kang for their women’s and girls’ programs.
Kang pledged to give U.S. Soccer $30 million dollars over the next five years which is the largest philanthropic investment in U.S. Soccer’s women’s and girls’ programs on Nov. 19, 2024.
According to a press release, Kang’s investment will scale competitive opportunities for youth players, expand and improve talent identification and fuel professional development for female players, coaches and referees.
Kang’s investment will open new opportunities to women and girls in soccer.
“Michele Kang’s gift will transform soccer for women and girls in the United States,” U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said in a press release. “It will impact generations of women and girls in our game, including players, coaches, and referees.”
The investment will fund camps for women and girls, doubling the number of National Team camps it currently runs. Additionally, it will allow U.S. Soccer to scale its talent identification tools, bringing 12 times the number of players into the Youth National Team pipeline which gives access to 100,000 female players.
Kang’s investment will also help increase 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,” U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team head coach Emma Hayes said in a press release. “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.”
The U.S. women’s national team has won five Women’s World Cup titles and five Olympic gold medals, including winning the tournament in Paris in summer 2024.
Kang, a well-known women’s sports advocate, became the first woman of color to own a National Women’s Soccer League team when she acquired the Washington Spirit in 2022. In July 2024, she launched Kynisca, the world’s first multi-team global organization focused on professionalizing women’s soccer.
She said in a news release that she hopes her generous donation will inspire others to invest in women’s sports.
“Women’s sports have been undervalued and overlooked for far too long,” Kang said. “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.”
When Kang first got involved in the sport in 2022, she told CNBC that it was immediately clear to her that there was “enormous potential” in the field.
She said she hopes to continue investing in teams globally and inspire girls across the world.
“This is also about making sure that all the young girls around the world know that this is not just a U.S., English, French phenomenon,” Kang said. “When I get a team in those countries, I’m going to bring the same infrastructure, technology and capabilities to those countries so that they can feel that ‘if I can put my best into it, I can be the next Alex Morgan.’”
