Archive May 4, 2025

A figure wearing a long white dress, high heels, and sunglasses stood out among the London City Lionesses’ teal shirts with the word “winners” on them.

Since taking over Lionesses last summer, Michele Kang has not relinquished her business, but with the promotion to the Women’s Super League under her belt.

The celebrations at St. Andrew’s after Lionesses held on to a stunning 2-2 draw against championship rivals Birmingham City to advance to the WSL were somewhat unusual, with club owner Kang permitted to carry the trophy onto the field.

She told Sky Sports, “We have been building a team that is at least in the mid-tier WSL.”

“When I first arrived, a lot of people were very concerned for me and questioned, “How can you do this because you don’t have a men’s team from which to draw the equity, the brand, and the fanbase?”

To accomplish this in a year as an independent team is evidence that anything is possible with proper funding and resources. This provides evidence that we are only increasing.

The first team to join the WSL is the London City Lionesses, which has no affiliation with a men’s club. Since splitting from Millwall in 2019, they have been a fixture in the second tier but have experienced a turbocharged state of affairs since their wealthy American owner, who is now 82, arrived in 2023.

Along with 2010 World Cup champion Saki Kumagai, former Barcelona midfielder Maria Perez, and seasoned Swedish international Sofia Jakobsson, former WSL champion Kosovare Asllani led several eye-catching arrivals on the pitch.

Promotion was only secured on the final day of this draw at second-placed Birmingham, who came from 2-0 down and worked hard until the very end to ensure them a victory.

Kang has spent a lot of money, both wisely and boldly. With a particular emphasis on women’s fitness needs, Kent has plans to build a state-of-the-art training facility. She has previously pressed for more money and research into the effects of sport on women’s bodies and delivered her claims without fals.

She stated that the hiring team will meet on Monday morning to discuss how to avoid Crystal Palace and Bristol City from the WSL last year.

And it is interesting to note that the two key players at St. Andrew’s were young British talents rather than recent headliners.

Izzy Goodwin, the championship top scorer this season with 16 strikes in 18 games, scored the first goal. It will be interesting to watch how she ascends after Sheffield United and the Lionesses both had high second-tier goals.

Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah, signed in 2023, scored the second. In the opening period, she also made a crucial goalline clearance.

Although the WSL is a completely different league, “we have the experience, the players, the support, the fans, and hopefully they will continue to grow.” We “take each game as it comes,” Boye-Hlorkah said, “We put ourselves on the map.”

Lionesses’ desire to resurrect their position in the top flight will depend on that combination of investment and existing talent. They will want to maintain the spirit that made them triumph over Birmingham and that made them the championship scorers at the end of the season.

However, it will require a prudent use of the funds. In a deal worth £65m over five years across the WSL and Championship, clubs in the WSL receive three times as much TV money as those in the Championship.

The agreement is worth about $800,000 to WSL clubs, and $ 270,000 to Championship teams. Given that Lionesses don’t have any financial backing and are not affiliated with a men’s Premier League or Championship side, staying up might be necessary.

They will play all of their home games at 5, 000-capacity Hayes Lane, which they share with League Two men’s side Bromley, without having access to Premier League stadiums for big games.

The highest-paid WSL players make about $ 300,000 annually, which is more than the Championship club’s annual salary. The checkbook for Gang must be blank and open.

However, she and the players are up for the challenge, based on the available evidence.

Former England international Anita Asante told BBC Sport, “I have a lot of admiration for Michele Kang because I think she empowers women throughout the game, across all levels.”

She says, “It’s because she believes in the value of women’s football, and she’s driving that investment,” and she wants her players to continue exceling.

Emirates Old Trafford, Division Two, Rothesay County Championship (day three)

Lancashire 450: Harris 167, Singh Dale 3-67

Gloucestershire 589-8: O Price 253*, Hammond 97, Bailey 2-67

By 139 runs, Gloucestershire (5 pts) surpassed Lancashire (4 pts) by 5 runs.

Ollie Price added a career-best 253 runs before the county championship match at Old Trafford, making him the third Gloucestershire batsman in history to score a double-century against Lancashire.

The visitors finished with a score of 450, which is the highest level in first-class matches between these two teams, and they were 589-8 at the final whistle.

However, the game looks very likely to end in a draw shortly after tea on Monday, excluding collapses on this flat pitch.

None of which should diminish Price’s accomplishments, who reached his 200th wicket 40 minutes into the evening session off John Turner and was congratulated by his older brother Tom, who matched him with 72 for the seventh wicket.

Ollie Price made a double-century against Lancashire after facing 358 balls and hitting 28 fours. He follows in the footsteps of Charlie Barnett and Wally Hammond.

In 1938, Hammond was the last to surpass Hammond in this feat, and he also recorded two more double hundreds in opposition to the Red Rose.

However, Lancashire’s bowlers had a difficult day in the dirt. Tom Hartley finished with 2-149 from 44 overs, Tom Bailey took two wickets, George Balderson took his second wicket of the day, and Tom Bailey took two more.

Miles Hammond lost his middle stump to Bailey when he was three runs short of his century in the morning session, scoring 112 runs in 29 overs for Gloucestershire.

With a single off Bailey, Hammond’s 203-run partnership with Ollie Price, who had already reached three figures two overs prior, was ended by that dismissal.

On the way to his century, Price faced 208 balls and hit 14 fours while being 114 not out at lunch, Gloucestershire were 296-3.

Lancashire took three more wickets in the afternoon, but they were unable to stop their rivals, who had only allowed 17 runs in arrears at the start of the session.

Cameron Green was bowled by a good ball from Bailey for eight, James Bracey was squandered by Keaton Jennings for 44, and Marcus Harris was squirted off Balderson for 13 by a diving Marcus Harris.

After a 35-over session in which Lancashire used seven bowlers, Price was unbeaten on 181 at tea.

Ollie Price, who had a double century in the evening session, was the star, but Turner eventually dismissed his brother Tom after he could only glove a skillfully angled bouncer into Jennings’ slip.

In the closing moments of the day, Price, Zaman Akhter, and Price flogged the exhausted bowlers in total, with Akhter scoring 25 before Hartley bowled him.

With over 490 pitches in their first innings this season, Gloucestershire has allowed all three visiting teams to bat once more, with no need to bat a second time.