da dobrowin： Led by the same majority owner as NWSL side Washington Spirit and eight-time European champions Lyon, the Championship club are having a big summer

da 888casino： Kosovare Asllani is one of the most talented players of her generation. She has lifted the Women’s Super League title with Manchester City, represented Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and AC Milan, racked up 187 caps for Sweden and played in four major tournament semi-finals. So when a second division team set about trying to persuade her to make a shock transfer this summer, it’s no surprise to hear that she wasn’t quite sure.

Even when she was unveiled last week as the marquee signing for London City Lionesses, who play in the Women’s Championship in England, the iconic playmaker admitted that she was still “a little bit terrified” about a move she described as a “risk”. However, sitting alongside new head coach Jocelyn Precheur, who himself was lured across the channel from French giants Paris Saint-Germain, she was simultaneously keen to emphasise how “excited” she was about joining an ambitious project led by Michele Kang, who is also the majority owner of the Washington Spirit in the NWSL and eight-time European champions Lyon.

“I've been waiting for someone like Michele to come along, honestly,” Asllani said. “The reason I'm here is because of Michele. We've been waiting to get these investments into women's football and having the opportunity to work with, for me, the most powerful woman in the business at the moment is what intrigued me.”

While sat alongside two additions that probably no other team in the division could have made, and discussing news that London City had also acquired its training facilities and struck an agreement with new men’s League Two side Bromley to play home games at its Hayes Lane ground, Kang acknowledged: "Just because you spend more money doesn't mean you're going to win the Championship. I'm very cognisant of that.”

Yet, the mission is clear. London City Lionesses want to do exactly that, secure promotion to the WSL and, then, become champions of England. To achieve any of that will take a lot – and it needs the big ambition which Kang is showing.

USA TODAY SportsDifferent challenge

It’s easy to see why Kang is a revered figure for many in the women’s game. She doesn’t just talk the talk, she is a “doer” in Asllani’s words. She quite literally puts her money where her mouth is and invests and supports the teams she owns.

There are some that are opposed to her multi-club ownership model, but Kang made it clear in just her second press conference that, across the three teams she owns a majority stake in, “the goal is to make every team the champion in each of the leagues that they play” rather than “to make one team successful, like some of the common models that you see on the men's side”.

To get London City to the level she envisages is going to be her toughest challenge yet, though. Lyon was already established as the biggest team in Europe before her investment, and while the Spirit didn’t win a first NWSL Championship until after Kang got involved, the club has been in the U.S. top flight since its establishment in 2013. That’s not to say that Kang hasn’t done things to help both improve, but to illustrate the difference in trying to help an English second division side achieve such lofty ambitions.

AdvertisementGettyStumbling blocks

Kang has experienced the obstacles such a challenge presents already, too. “Over the past six months, we approached a lot of top coaches, a lot of top players, and a lot of them told us, 'Call me when you get promoted',” she explained. “A lot of people were very nervous about joining a Championship team.”

After all, there are implications. Asllani, whom Kang is extremely “grateful” for because of her decision to take a “risk”, will want to go to the European Championship next summer with Sweden, and dropping down to the second division could impact that. Given her experience and quality, and how proven she is, it’s possible she will still get the nod, but other players aren’t in that situation. Even though Asllani is, it remains a gamble.

GettyPersuasive figure

And that is where Kang’s character comes into it all. “I went with the gut and the feeling I get from Michele with her vision for women's sport,” Asllani explained. “She is someone that believes in a project, that is investing, that is a doer. That is how I feel, and the impression I got from Michele from our first meeting. I remember leaving the room feeling like, 'I want to work with her'.”

Precheur gave similar comments. “Since I met Michele last season, I have admired her vision, her dedication for the women's game,” he added. “She is very ambitious. This is a big project. Very quickly, I decided to join Michele because I really, really wanted to support her to be part of this project.”

It’s clear that her ambition resonates and that she is able to convey her vision in a way that persuades people to get onboard. Lyon star Ada Hegerberg told GOAL that Kang was a big reason in her decision to renew with the eight-time European champions earlier this year. Now, she’s playing a huge role in drawing elite players and coaches to the English second-tier.

GettyOn and off the pitch

It's not just on the pitch that she’s making big things happen, either. Recognising the need for a top-class training environment if London City are to hit the heights desired, Kang has purchased the 23-acre training facility that the club was renting.

“We engaged the architects who designed the Tottenham training centre,” Kang explained. “I did my research, and in my opinion, they have actually the best football training centre. We engaged with them and they have been working with us to design the state of the art training centre for women's football teams. They will be designing basically the same concept for London City, for the Spirit and for Lyon.”

That’s on top of the decision to relocate from Princes Park, the stadium used by seventh-tier men's team Dartford FC, to Hayes Lane, the ground of newly-promoted League Two outfit Bromley. It moves the club from Kent to Greater London, which Kang believes is “important”, but most significantly gives them “a professional grade stadium” to play in.