Michele Kang says London City Lionesses’ proposed training complex will raise the bar for women’s football and offer better facilities than those available to most men’s Premier League teams.
During the summer, Kang made a major investment in strengthening the Women’s Super League squad, including the arrival of two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas.
Kang said the club expects its specially designed training facility to be ready within the next 12 months.
She said: “We are developing an advanced training centre exclusively for our female athletes. Every part of it is being planned around their needs, and it should open in less than a year.
“Our architect, who has worked on several Premier League training facilities, believes that once the London City centre is operational, it will be superior to the training grounds used by most men’s teams in the competition.”
For Kang, spending on infrastructure is part of a broader effort to ensure that female athletes receive the same respect and opportunities as men.
“How can anyone accept their daughters, granddaughters or sisters being treated as inferior while boys are encouraged to participate in the same sport as though the opportunity automatically belongs to them?”
She argues that women in sport have spent far too long being regarded simply as smaller versions of men.
“We must provide better support for female players so they can train, compete and develop according to their own athletic needs rather than being treated like undersized men,” she said.
“Parents may take their sons to modern training centres, while their daughters have to travel elsewhere if a suitable facility is even available. Why should that difference be considered acceptable?”
Kang strongly supports independently operated women’s clubs and said this was among the factors that drew her to London City Lionesses.
“My introduction to women’s football came through Washington Spirit in the United States, where around two-thirds of women’s sides operate independently rather than being connected to men’s clubs. That structure therefore feels entirely normal to me.
“I wanted to demonstrate that women’s teams do not have to follow a single model or exist as part of men’s clubs. Independent organizations are also viable, and at the time, I believe London City and Durham were the two clubs devoted solely to women.
“My aim was to develop a women-only club and demonstrate what can be achieved when all the attention, funding and effort are focused entirely on the women’s game.”
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