Women’s soccer growth fueled by investors Kang and Ohanian

The growth of women’s soccer across the world has been clear with events like the 2023 Women’s World Cup. That tournament, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, set attendance records with just shy of 2 million fans across all games. Fans across the world broke viewership records for the tournament in 2023, too. Australia drew 11.5 million viewers on domestic TV during its semifinal loss to England. In the Women’s World Cup Final, English TV broadcasters BBC and ITV peaked at just shy of 15 million, a record for a women’s soccer game. Then, in China, 53.9 million people tuned in for the game between China and England in the group stage.

As global interest mounts in women’s soccer, investors have ramped up their acknowledgment of the sport. Michele Kang is the founder and CEO of Cognosante, a medical technology company. Her fortunes in that field have now pivoted to investment in sports. She recognized the gap between where women’s soccer is currently and where it can be down the line. Therefore, Kang invested in three professional women’s soccer teams. She is the majority owner of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin and the London City Lionesses.

Speaking to CNBC during coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kang talked about the massive development of women’s soccer in the United States. Popularity among the league and the Washington Spirit in particular has skyrocketed over recent years.

“Just for NWSL in the US, just this year, our viewership doubled in the first half over last year,” Kang said. “Our gameday attendance is growing 40 to 50%. The Washington Spirit, we play at Audi Field, which is about a 20,000-person [stadium], we average about 14,000. That is about triple the size of three years ago when I first took over.”

“Numbers are there. We just have to make sure everyone knows about this, especially a lot of corporations wanting to reach our target audience.”

Growth of women’s soccer…

Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/womens-soccer-growth-fueled-by-investors-kang-and-ohanian/

Author : Kyle Fansler

Publish date : 2024-07-30 18:08:47

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