Exclusive: Wealthy investor Michele Kang initiates a $25 million U.S. Soccer facility aimed at revolutionizing the landscape of women's athletics.

Kang initiated this endeavor via her own entity; after acquiring three athletic groups, she observed disparities when contrasted with male athletics. “Why do we have more ACL injuries? Why don’t we have enough female coaches and referees?” She inquired upon entering the field with the funds she accumulated from divesting her health care IT firm. This year, she merged Kynisca’s innovation center in partnership with U.S. Soccer, anticipating that the association's renowned ability to gather people would expedite the involvement of scholars and study subjects. In aggregate, she has allocated $55 million to this initiative, comprising $25 million for the new institution and $30 million for particular initiatives targeting youth sports and instruction. Kang had previously disclosed her financial pledges and is now revealing the establishment of the new institution.

Not just ‘small men’

Only 6% of global sports science research globally focuses on women. Kang says that’s because of less attention paid to women both in sports and in health research more broadly. “It’s an overall bias in society,” she says. In sports, women have been treated as “small men,” she says.

Emma Hayes, who coaches the U.S. Women’s National Team and previously managed Chelsea Women, securing seven championships during her tenure, acted as a crucial consultant for this initiative. “The whole system is based on copy and paste from the men’s game,” she states.

Hayes realized the detrimental effects that treating women athletes the same as men could have about a decade ago, when three of her players at Chelsea had ACL injuries in one year. Physical therapists didn’t understand why women weren’t coming back in the same six- to seven-month window as men. They didn’t factor in that “we don’t have as much testosterone, so we don’t build muscle in the same way,” she recalls. If their rehab could have incorporated those factors from the beginning, the players might have been better served. Then when Chelsea was in the FA Cup, several players on the team were all in the final phase of their menstrual cycle, and it affected their reaction times. She wanted to understand how to train across nutrition and performance to account for these realities.

Lately, several members of the U.S. Women’s National Team have become pregnant and had children. She aims to provide support not only when players resume their athletic careers but also during their pregnancies, offering guidance on training timing and methods, and considering each player's unique pregnancy journey. Upon their return, their reintegration strategy should factor in whether they delivered vaginally or via Cesarean section.

The Kang Institute intends to address these issues. At Kang's facilities, participants use Oura rings to monitor their health metrics and tailor their training according to this information.

This represents a significant shift from U.S. Soccer's stance a short time ago, specifically regarding the resolution of a legal dispute with athletes concerning their pursuit of equitable compensation. The legal action concluded in 2022, and Hayes took on the coaching role in 2024. Kang began participating in women's athletics approximately four years back.

The youth pipeline

However, some of the most captivating developments will occur at the junior levels. The pathway to professional women's soccer begins early; numerous female professional athletes attribute Title IX to establishing the chance for their advancement to the professional ranks. Studies indicate that girls frequently cease participating in sports around age 12—precisely when they are entering puberty and grappling with self-consciousness about their bodies. Coaches in youth athletics ought to receive instruction on managing this delicate period in young girls' lives, according to Hayes. “It’s not as simple as just going to the field with an extra tampon and a sanitary towel, though that would be helpful,” she states. “Everything from ensuring we don’t wear white shorts to what are the best ways for having challenging conversations in what is a really tricky period for young girls? How might we support when body images plays such an important part of their own self-confidence?”

The Kang Institute has formally pledged to initiate the inaugural nationwide investigation concentrating on the requirements of women athletes. This initiative involves cooperation with the NWSL and USL, the two primary professional leagues, to develop evidence-based guidelines for player health, safety measures, and conditioning techniques, alongside the development of instruments and materials to foster athlete welfare.

Kang views her efforts in youth athletics as fulfilling a societal purpose while also securing the long-term viability of her clubs and the sport itself. Compared to their European counterparts, girls' soccer initiatives in the U.S. Possess fewer resources and less backing. American organizations are striving to retain talent, such as Trinity Rodman of the Washington Spirit, within the United States, a country where salary restrictions cap the earnings of prominent athletes.

“We have to make sure that we invest in really showing the clear path,” she says, “so that young girls can aspire to be the next Alex Morgan, the next Trinity Rodman.”