That's why the story, first reported by AS, that they're offering Liverpool a “symbolic amount” to fast-track Trent Alexander-Arnold's transfer speaks volumes—not about the fee, but about the urgency. Having already announced he will leave Anfield at the end of his contract in June 2025, Alexander-Arnold's early departure is now the subject of Madrid's focus. The Spanish giants want him available for the expanded FIFA Club World Cup kicking off in mid-June. Yet under his current deal, he cannot play until July 1st. They've reportedly offered Liverpool around €900,000 (£760,000), along with covering the England international's final month of wages. Madrid are set to earn $38.2m (£28.6m) just by participating, with an additional $87.6m (£65.5m) available should they reach the final. Their group opponents—Al Hilal, Pachuca and RB Salzburg—might not send shivers down spines, but Madrid want their squad intact and firing. Alexander-Arnold's creativity and elite ball progression could be a decisive edge, especially in matches where opposition sides sit deep and disrupt. Liverpool have stated Alexander-Arnold will depart once his contract expires on 30 June 2025. The phrasing, deliberately official and firm, suggests reluctance to release him before that point. Yet the symbolic gesture could be tempting. It would offer closure, a clean break, and a chance for fans to begin adjusting to life without one of their own. How do you place a value on 20 years of service, a local lad turned Champions League winner, now walking into the Bernabéu? His departure this summer has been confirmed, so the idea of him leaving a few weeks earlier than planned shouldn't come as a massive shock. What's striking, though, is the price tag. Still, when you consider the circumstances—his deal ending in June and Real Madrid's desire to have him ready for the Club World Cup—it starts to make sense. From Liverpool's perspective, accepting a modest fee and having his wages covered for the final month isn't the worst outcome. Arne Slot won't have Trent in his squad either way, so this early exit simply clears the path a bit sooner.

Manage your account WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, will serve as executive director of his task force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In the post on Truth Social, Trump also said Carlos Cordeiro, a FIFA senior advisor, will serve as a task force senior advisor. The United States, Canada and Mexico will host the World Cup in the summer of 2026. (Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Katharine Jackson)

The FIFA Club World Cup is just over a month away, yet we already have our first major controversy. On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected appeals from Mexican side Club León and Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA) of Costa Rica, as both organizations sought avenues to play in the summer tournament. León is owned by Grupo Pachuca, which also operates CF Pachuca, a club that also qualified for the competition. LDA felt it had a case to replace León due to its ranking in the region, but CAS thought otherwise. Now, FIFA's solution is a one-game playoff between MLS's Los Angeles FC, the runner up to León in 2023, and Mexican powerhouse Club América, Concacaf's highest-ranked team that has not yet qualified for the competition. So, what does this decision mean for all the parties involved? And what about Colombian star James Rodríguez, who signed with León in January with the Club World Cup cited as a major reason why he moved to Mexico in the first place? MLS clubs and Liga MX sides find ways to play each other every year. Whether it's a summer friendly, the MLS All-Star Game or in a tournament like the MLS-Liga MX Leagues Cup, the U.S.-Mexico storyline is forced upon American soccer fans like a hot iron. The problem is that those games are far from meaningful. A one-game playoff for a berth to the 32-team Club World Cup features stakes that an MLS vs. Liga MX game has never had. Not only is this an opportunity for LAFC or Club América to compete against some of the top clubs in the world, a ticket to the Club World Cup includes a nearly $10 million bonus for all qualified teams, with more prize money on offer depending on performance. Although MLS players on participating teams can only earn $1 million collectively from the astonishing $1 billion total prize money, the financial factor is significant for teams in this region. The game is reportedly set to be held at LAFC's BMO Stadium, which boasts one of MLS's best matchday atmospheres. Add in Club América's massive following in LA and around the U.S., and you've the makings of a blockbuster moment for North American soccer. On Tuesday, a press release by León described the CAS decision as “a difficult sentence” before pointing the finger at supposed Liga MX rivals who conspired to keep León out of the Club World Cup. Without naming FIFA, León felt harshly judged by “an organization that is dedicated to promoting the game,” before adding “but from the beginning, there were no sporting principles at play during this case.” To call León the victims in this situation is debatable. Meanwhile, León is currently in the quarterfinals of the Liga MX playoffs, where it'll face Cruz Azul, a team that recently reached the final of this year's Concacaf Champions Cup — and the winner is due to face either Pachuca or América, in another fun twist. There will be a brief 10-day transfer window from June 1 to June 10 that will allow teams to sign players on a temporary basis. He proved that last summer after leading Colombia to the Copa América final against Argentina. Rodríguez won the Golden Ball after setting a tournament record with six assists, which broke the previous record held by Lionel Messi. In that sense, it's a letdown to see the Club World Cup lose one of its more recognizable stars. “We won on the pitch,” Rodríguez told reporters. Thinking about this, if we're out, it's not fair. That team featured Bale, Carlos Vela and Italian legend Giorgio Chiellini. 9 (and could meet one of his former clubs, Chelsea, in the group where LAFC would enter if successful). Outside of Inter Miami and the LA Galaxy, there are few brands in MLS with a worldwide following. A win over Club América in the playoff and a respectable performance at the Club World Cup could change that for LAFC. According to Club América, the team has over 45 million fans around the world, of which 15 million reside in Southern California. The club should feel at home inside LAFC's BMO Stadium. That won't surprise anyone who follows North American soccer. Appearing in the Club World Cup is a great opportunity to accentuate that point and grow its global footprint. On the flip side, the worst-case scenario could be quite humiliating, as a loss to LAFC in a game of such massive consequence would be a major setback for América and Mexican soccer. As of late, the North American sides have clawed their way back and enjoyed more success at the international level. Club América will carry the weight of its century-old history into the playoff, but it'll also represent the pride of a nation whose football has hit rock bottom of late.

They have unrealistic expectations for him or her as an athlete. Or they are simply so unreasonable that there's little we can do to help them understand us better. “As a coach, I've had an irrational parent on my team, and it has made my season miserable,” says Eddy, a former USWNT hopeful turned sports parent advocate. “They've been taking way too much of my time and energy from the children by asking too many questions. And so as coaches, when we've been in those experiences, we say, ‘OK, well, we're just gonna avoid all parents, because that was a really difficult season.' Even Eddy, a one-time defensive MVP of the NCAA women's soccer Final Four for George Mason who later coached on the staff at the University of Richmond, found herself labeled as one of them. It was the ignition that launched her passion project, soccerparenting.com, which today has about 43,000 members nationwide. It offers advice, training and encouragement for coaches and parents and youth sports leaders with a goal of helping us understand each other a little better. From Eddy's experience and research, the vast majority of parents are not “crazy,” but level-headed folks who are just stressed. “Parenting is stressful these days, like society's stressful,” says Eddy, 53, a mother of two kids put through the athletic wringer. Eddy spoke with us about how our soccer parenting, and sports parenting, can improve when we take a more introspective look at ourselves. From the discussion, USA TODAY Sports came with ways we can soothe our stress around our kids' games and improve the environment in which they are playing. Eddy, a former goalie, reached as high as U.S. women's soccer player could go in the 1990s, barring making the national team. She pushes back at the notion that she was living out her own athletic experiences when her daughter, Cali, also became an elite soccer player in high school. “I loved my athletic career,” Eddy says. She would not pick up a phone and call the coach. She needed to be built up like that.” Eddy was seeing things from her own point of view, and what she would have done. In more recent years, she came across a term (“Decoupling”) that would have helped her. It is associated with a romantic relationship, where two people pull back from their emotional connection but remain friends. It can also apply to teenagers growing into their own identities as athletes. “It's sort of like not feeling things so deeply, letting our children dictate the path and us really being OK with it,” she says. “And I think that because as parents, it's so easy to feel like the stakes are so high, we try to interject too much.” The process can start with our actions on the sidelines, and often when our kids are very young. But perhaps unintentionally, you are projecting it onto them. You jump up and down on the bleachers. Soccer Parenting's Sideline Project, which helps condition parents on game day, identifies three types of sideline behaviors: “Distracting behavior serves one primary purpose: To alleviate our stress as parents and coaches,” Eddy says in her Sideline Project online course. In the video, she demonstrates the Stroop Effect, named after an American psychologist who measured selective attention, processing speed and how interference affects performance. She has an interactive exercise using colors to illustrate how your children feel when they are concentrating in a game and adults interrupt them. That is how your child feels when they are playing, concentrating on the technical skill and what their decision is going to be, and they hear your voice telling them to shoot or pass." So tough, apparently, that she once came home from road club soccer tournament and reported: “Another parent from the other team was sitting on the sideline, flicking me off. Eddy estimates that 2% of the youth sports ecosystem, perhaps one parent per team, are these hostile ones. Many of us are merely distracting, a quality we can correct. Suspensions from two games to lifetime bans are now issued if you belittle, berate, insult, harass, touch or physically assault sports officials. Report the abusers and get them thrown out. They are not part of our experience. I like to sit with the opposing team's fans when my sons are pitching in their baseball games. While I get a different video angle, I meet new people and feel and hear their emotions. It helps remind me why we are all in this. "We care so much about sport because of the connection," Eddy says. Cali quit soccer for short time when she was eight. They did the same warmup at every practice. They weren't even given adequate instruction, Eddy thought. It was labeled as an advanced development program. When she asked other parents what they thought of the environment, they were fine with it. “It struck me that until parents understand what a good learning environment looks like, to lead to player inspiration and joy and really giving kids a connection to sport, then we're really going to be missing a big part of the solution when it comes to improving youth sports,” she says. One of its foundational principles is to encourage coach and parent interaction, with clear and appropriate boundaries. Some suggested parameters a coach can use: When your kid comes home from practice in a bad mood or doesn't want to go the next day; if he or she is having trouble playing a particular position; if you don't fully understand the scoring system or rules of the sport. “We see the correlation between parents having more understanding and the children's experience getting better, and then therefore clubs and coaches having to get better," Eddy says. Eddy laughs about once walking across the field with a plan in her head of what she would say to Cali. Instead, in the heat of the moment, she said: “You really need to work on your left foot.” "I had zero intention of saying that. It just poured right out of me." When I posed a question on social media about how we can be better soccer parents, Palmer Neill, of Dallas, told me: “Basically, when you feel like doing something at a game or practice other than cheer or clap ... just don't do it. Life gets a lot easier when you realize this." When Neill barks to his 10-year-old son to get onsides, or about an opponent's hand ball, he sits back in his chair and doesn't get up. He tries to stay seated during the game. "It seems to give me one extra second to think before I sit up (or stand-up) and yell," he says. Our own education and reflection, Eddy says, can relieve stress. Know the rules (and recent modifications to them). Be curious, not upset, when other kids have more skills than yours. Perhaps it's the Relative Age Effect, where young athletes born earliest among their age grouping are faster and stronger. Or that those kids move better because they play other sports or have more free play outside with friends and have better functional movement skills. We can put our own sports paths into better context, too. Coach Steve: MLS NEXT youth soccer rankings emphasize development over wins When Eddy thinks about it, she liked to socialize at the local skating rink. She only trained twice a week with her soccer team. She used to wonder if Cali, who came back to soccer on her own terms, was getting enough reps on her own. “What would I have been doing if I was in intense practices for an hour and a half four days a week, plus traveling to a lot in the games?” Eddy says. “Would I still have been doing that? In today's world, it feels like kids sports matter a lot more. Maybe they do when we have more opportunities to play in front of college coaches. Maybe they don't when we play rec soccer, like Eddy's son, Davis, did, and parents screamed when he missed a shot. “Having that outlet for sport was really important to his development, just as a person, and getting some space and, kind of way to blow off some steam as a student,” she says. Cali decided to work at a sleepaway camp in Maine during the summer before her junior year, a crucial one for college recruiting. She became a Division III All-American and now works for the Columbus Crew. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, it's so hard for you,' but not saying that out loud," Eddy says. We are when we let them lead the way, to choose friends over sports when they wish, and to have those sleepovers. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers.

There is officially a path towards a third MLS team qualifying for this summer's FIFA 2025 Club World Cup, with the sport's governing body announcing Tuesday that LAFC will face Club América in a playoff match to determine who replaces Club León in the global tournament. Should LAFC win, they would join Seattle Sounders FC (2022 Concacaf Champions Cup winner) and Inter Miami CF (host nation spot) when the 32-team tournament unfolds from June 14 to July 13 across the United States. Club León qualified as 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup winners, but FIFA rules state that clubs competing at this summer's Club World Cup cannot share owners. Club León and fellow LIGA MX side CF Pachuca, who qualified as 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup winners and will remain in the tournament, are both owned by Grupo Pachuca. That decision was brought to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which upheld FIFA's stance after appeals from CF Pachuca, Club León and Costa Rican side Alajuelense. LAFC were selected as 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup runners-up, having lost that year's final to Club León (3-1 aggregate). At the Club World Cup, the LAFC-Club América playoff winner will replace Club León in Group D alongside Chelsea (England), Flamengo (Brazil) and ES Tunis (Tunisia). Club León's Group D matches were scheduled as follows, with the first two games respectively held at home venues for Atlanta United and Nashville SC: Perennial MLS Cup contenders in the Western Conference, LAFC are led by forward Denis Bouanga. The Gabon international has earned two consecutive MLS Best XI nods (2023, '24) while scoring 20 league goals in back-to-back years. Additional stars include French national team legends Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris, as well as rising Venezuelan winger David Martínez and center back Aaron Long. Led by manager André Jardine, star players include goalkeeper Luis Malagón, midfielder Álvaro Fidalgo, winger Alejandro Zendejas and forward Víctor Dávila. Zendejas is a former FC Dallas homegrown who represents the US men's national team. Concacaf teams earn a guaranteed $9.55 million for participating in the Club World Cup, then up to $87.625 million if they win all three Group Stage games and eventually lift the title in the July 13 final at MetLife Stadium – resulting in $97.175 million of potential winnings. Seven MLS stadiums are among the 12 venues selected to host games.

If not listed, please contact your TV provider. After being banned from the FIFA Club World Cup due to multi-club ownership rules, Club Leon has lost their appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and will need to be replaced at the tournament which will begin on June 14. To replace Leon in Group D alongside Chelsea, Flamengo, and Esperance Sportive de Tunis, FIFA has announced a one-game playoff between Los Angeles FC and Club America to determine that last spot. This playoff creates quite the opportunity for these teams as each Concacaf club participating in the tournament will receive $9.55 million in prize money from FIFA. This is before being able to win $2 million per win and $1 million per draw during the group stage. It's quite a sum for any club, and is more than either can earn via their respective leagues, adding additional pressure to that playoff match. According to GiveMeSport, LAFC will host the playoff match at BMO Stadium on May 31. LAFC currently has a match facing the Colorado Rapids scheduled for that day, while Club America will be free as the Liga MX Clausura playoffs will have concluded by then. With plans to put Leon up for sale not materializing in time, only one of those teams could participate in the tournament and the one that will continue is Pachuca. Pachuca and Leon's appeal to CAS was based around both clubs still complying with the Club World Cup eligibility to participate but it was deemed not to be the case. Costa Rican side Alajuelense also filed an appeal with CAS that if one of Leon or Pachuca were removed form the tournament that they should be the team to replace them. CAS did hear that case before rejecting it. Alongside other clubs taking part in the tournament, Leon had beefed up their roster adding James Rodriguez to the side but while he won't have a chance to lead them to a Club World Cup title, he will have a chance to lead them to a Liga MX Clausura title as they'll take on Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals on Thursday in that tournament. There is no gambling offered on this site.

It would begin with removing seats this spring but returning them in time for the NFL season. That work will be done again next year, when the soccer tournament comes to KC. Photos from earlier this year showed work being done at Arrowhead Stadium. Chiefs CEO and chairman Clark Hunt spoke last month about what that construction entailed. “I don't know how noticeable it will be because for the football season we're going to have all of the existing seats replaced,” Hunt said. “We've been going through a process, which started back in March, to remove approximately eight rows on the north side of the stadium. It's been a fairly major surgery to the stadium, which is ongoing. For the football season we're going to put aluminum risers back in with the seats that were there before we took them out so that the fans who own season tickets in those seats are not impacted.” Get in-depth, sideline coverage of Kansas City area sports - only $1 a month Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

As the Coppa Italia final against Bologna looms for AC Milan, U.S. Men's National Team and Rossoneri star Christian Pulisic's future with the Serie A giants appears to have been confirmed. However, having led the Rossoneri in goals this season, with 16 in all competitions, it appears that Pulisic is safe for another year, along with fellow midfielder, Tijjani Reijnders. With Reijnders having recently put pen to paper on a new deal, and Pulisic seemingly set to follow suit, it appears that the midfield maestros will form the building blocks of Milan's rebuild, as per La Gazzetta dello Sport. Others who may yet join them as cornerstones of a new-look Milan include goalkeeper Mike Maignan and defender Theo Hernandez, both of whom have had discussions with the front office over new deals. That being said, Hernandez has also recently been linked with a move back to Real Madrid, six years after he departed La Liga for Serie A, as per Dario AS. As for Conceicao, who it also appears is likely heading for the exit this summer either via a resignation or by force, he could yet leave Milan on a high note, having now guided his team to back to back to back wins for the first time during his tenure, following their 2-1 win at Genoa on Monday. Far from an all-time classic, Milan had to wait until the 76th minute to bounce back from Vitinha's earlier goal, with Rafael Leao's heavily deflected shot finding its way past Nicola Leali. The comeback was then completed just over a minute later, as Genoa's Morten Frendrup scored an unfortunate own goal off a Leao cross, while attempting to beat Joao Felix to the ball. As for Pulisic, who started just behind forward Luka Jovic, he wound up playing nearly 80 minutes before being replaced by Musah. With just three league games remaining, a summer of significant change looms for Milan, who face the daunting prospect of a year without continental soccer, unless they win the upcoming Coppa Italia final against Bologna on May 14. A win at the Stadio Olimpico in Roma would ensure UEFA Europa League soccer next year.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected appeals from Grupo Pachuca and potential replacement club Alajuelense Mexican soccer club León finally lost their legal match against Fifa on Tuesday and are officially out of the Club World Cup. Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC or another Mexican team, Club América, will likely be the late replacement in the United States next month after a yet-to-be-scheduled one-game playoff. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its judges rejected León's attempt to overturn being removed by Fifa from the 32-team tournament for being in the same ownership group as another Club World Cup qualifier, Pachuca. The worldwide governing body for soccer confirmed last month that it was considering a one-game playoff between LAFC and Club América for that purpose, to be held before the start of the Club World Cup on 14 June. LAFC are scheduled to play a game at least every four days with one exception: A six-day break between league games on 18 and 24 May. Should they qualify for the Club World Cup, Club América will likely have to back out of a scheduled friendly against San Diego FC set for 20 June. Fifa's new rules to protect the integrity of its prized, revamped club event prohibit two or more teams being in the same ownership group. That standard has been in place in Uefa-run European competitions for more than 20 years and is typically solved by management changes at one of the two clubs, which can be placed into an ownership blind trust. Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer The owner of León and Pachuca, Grupo Pachuca, said it was prepared to sell one of the clubs to comply with Fifa rules but that it was not possible for a sale to be completed before the tournament started. At a previous appeal hearing at Fifa, León argued that the governing body “should follow in the footsteps of Uefa and permit the implementation of a trust as a solution to the issue of multi-club ownership.” Fifa lawyers argued that despite the intention of León's owners, they still had not been compliant with rules when signing a Club World Cup entry agreement in February. A separate and long-shot appeal by Costa Rican club Alajuelense to replace León was incorporated into the overall case and also rejected on Tuesday, CAS said. Fifa has not offered a reason why América – one of Mexico's best-supported teams – are eligible to be included when Fifa's rules cap each country at two entries unless it has more than two winners of a continental championship in the qualifying period.

will play Club America in a one-off match to qualify for the Club World Cup, with GIVEMESPORT able to exclusively reveal the match will take place on May 31 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. This spot opened up due to Club Leon being removed from the Club World Cup for a breach of multi-club rules. Leon had argued the club had been sufficiently placed in a blind trust, removing any conflict from both sides competing at the Club World Cup, but CAS rejected this argument. Alajuelense have also failed in their appeal to take the vacant spot after initially flagging a conflict between Leon and Pachuca. The tournament will be held from June 15 to July 13, 2025 with the Club World Cup final taking place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home of the NFL's New York Jets and New York Giants, which will also host the 2026 FIFA World Cup final for men's national teams. The tournament will be held from June 15 to July 13, 2025 with the Club World Cup final taking place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home of the NFL's New York Jets and New York Giants, which will also host the 2026 FIFA World Cup final for men's national teams. The tournament, which will run from June 15 to July 13, will kick off with a group stage with the 32 teams split up into eight groups of four teams each. The tournament, which will run from June 15 to July 13, will kick off with a group stage with the 32 teams split up into eight groups of four teams each. There will be a total of 63 matches played: There will be a total of 63 matches played: Football fans won't want to miss this. Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful. Though the MLS primary transfer window closed less than two weeks ago, clubs have long been planning for the summer. Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne may be persuaded to remain on board if the hierarchy have a rethink over his contract situation Liverpool are reportedly preparing to submit an opening offer worth £51m for the 22-year-old forward. The Englishman took far too many risks with his technique, and it's got everyone talking. He did NOT select Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi 😱 Tragedy chanting has become a huge issue in football over the last few years.

Club Leon have failed with an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) against FIFA's decision to remove them from the Club World Cup. Fifa determined in March that Club Leon and fellow Mexican team Pachuca did not meet tournament regulations on multi-club ownership. Because both clubs are owned by Grupo Pachuca, Fifa removed Club Leon from the tournament which is being held in the United States from 15 June to 13 July. However, Cas upheld Fifa's original decision and said in a statement that a panel found that Club Leon "failed to meet the criteria in the regulations". Cas also dismissed an appeal made by Costa Rican side Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA), who said they should be admitted to the Club World Cup as the next eligible team. As BBC Sport reported in March, Major League Soccer side LAFC and Mexican team Club America are now set to play a one-off play-off game for the final spot in the Club World Cup. Stunning stats and 'Ronaldo behaviour' - is Yamal cut out to rival Messi? A gritty crime saga set in Liverpool starring Sean Bean Rock group, Jethro Tull, at home, in the studio and on tour Stunning stats and 'Ronaldo behaviour' - is Yamal cut out to rival Messi? 'Two concussions in a month was scary and it's why I'm retiring' Who has made Troy's Premier League team of the week? Is the risk that Mercedes took with Antonelli paying off? Alexander-Arnold leaves as modern Liverpool great - but fans will feel hurt Ask Me Anything, the new BBC Sport service designed to serve you Nine bolters with a shot of making the Lions squad

LOS ANGELES -- When club owner and magnate Michele Kang sat in the "Futbol W" studio in L.A. to speak with ESPN, there was an obvious question lingering -- and one without an obvious answer. Earlier that day, Kang announced her latest large investment in the U.S. Soccer Federation at an event a few blocks away. Kang, who has been building what appears to be the women's soccer version of City Football Group, has expanded her empire dramatically in a short time. "I thought that would be much better accomplished by an organization like U.S. Soccer as opposed to something private." As Kang put it: "We need to do this on a massive scale, because we're talking about half of this population." Kang has found an unlikely ally in USWNT head coach Emma Hayes. Hayes comes from a long soccer background that Kang readily admits she doesn't have, but both women speak similarly about detesting constant comparisons to the men's game and both emphasize the need to view everything through "a female lens," as Hayes recently detailed in her long-term plan for U.S. Soccer. "[All parties] need to come together to make this product, women's football, women's soccer, the best sports entertainment product," Kang told ESPN. But here, multiple stakeholders, both private and governing bodies, they all need to work together." Since then, she's become one of the most prominent single owners in women's soccer. Her plan from the beginning was to pool resources to quickly scale up a global network of clubs -- something unprecedented for an operation exclusively focused on women's soccer. Kang is used to being questioned -- it is an occupational hazard of being a disruptor, which Kang has been in women's soccer since her then-record purchase of the Washington Spirit in 2022. Her $35 million valuation of the Spirit when she assumed majority control of the team was 10 times greater than another NWSL team sale two years earlier. "I can tell you when I first spun off Olympique Lyonnais from the men's team, there were a lot of criticisms," Kang said. Now, actually, the top teams both in France and England are doing it." Kang says she is not trying to create some kind of player development network that feeds players to one team, which is one of the criticisms of the multi-club model on the men's side -- like, say, City Football Group ultimately serving Manchester City. As she put it: "I'm not going to rob the best players from one team and give them to another team." Her ambition to be on new continents stems from the idea that seeing is believing: "I don't want the young girls growing up thinking that whatever women's-specific training methodology, dedicated stadium, state-of-the-art training centers are sort of an American, English, French phenomenon. Despite the comparisons Kang's model has drawn to ownership groups in the men's game (where she holds a minority stake in Eagle Football Group, which owns multiple men's teams), Kang insists she is forging something new. "The worst thing we can do to women's football is to copy and paste" what the men's game has been doing for decades, Kang said. That means determining a competitive format that works for the women's game, for instance, or building a different business model that, unlike a City Football Group or Red Bull's soccer network, is not so reliant on making money off the transfer market, which is still developing on the women's side. Two years into her multi-club model, Kang looks right on track. Washington hired Jonatan Giráldez away from global power FC Barcelona to become the team's head coach. Over the weekend, London City won promotion to England's top flight in Kang's first full season as owner, making them the only independently owned club to participate in next season's Women's Super League. Kang has invested in staff (such as Giráldez), infrastructure (such as improvements to training facilities) and players (such as Trinity Rodman, whom Kang said she'll "do everything we can" to keep from leaving the club when her contract expires later this year). Men's sports team owners have historically lost money until they sell. Women's sports are still fighting against the perception that they aren't good business long term, which, according to Kang, demands a more immediate return on investment. "One of the very important aspects of what I'm doing is I want to prove that women's sports in general, that women's football is good business," Kang said. "No business can survive by losing money forever, right? With a smile and her fingers crossed in front of her, she says the Spirit will "hopefully" break even in the near future. Washington finished fourth in the NWSL in average attendance last year -- nearly 14,000 fans per game -- and attendance is up this year. Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery for Kang's approach. The multi-club model is in vogue, and more women's soccer club owners are expanding their portfolios in the footsteps of Kang. Bay FC's owners, Sixth Street, announced plans earlier this year to create a similar global network. Kansas City Current majority owners Angie and Chris Long, who funded the NWSL's first purpose-built stadium as the anchor of a $1 billion waterfront development, previously confirmed to ESPN that more clubs will soon be added to their portfolio. The recently launched Monarch Collective is dedicated to exclusively investing in women's sports teams and already holds stakes in Angel City FC, Boston Legacy FC and San Diego Wave FC -- the maximum (three) allowed by the NWSL's private equity rules. Avenue Sports Group, led by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, is focused on NWSL and WNBA investment and held serious discussions with at least four NWSL teams previously for sale. Kang welcomes others to join her: "I'm actually seeing either intent or already moving in that direction [from] several groups already," she said. "I'm hearing so-and-so is buying this team and so forth. Kang has fielded questions about what she's doing -- the multi-club model, but also her Kynisca Innovation Hub that is "dedicated to revolutionizing how female athletes train" -- from more people privately. "Women's football is kind of exploding," she told ESPN. The bad news, she quickly adds, is the lack of infrastructure and resources in place around it, including staffing and player development. "We all need to move all those things together to really advance this game so that we don't miss a beat," Kang said, "because the last thing we need is: somehow, right now, things are really great, but what's the sustaining power?" Kang's rhetorical question is the short answer to people asking "Why?" Her plan is to boost investment in a space that has historically lacked it, much like any other business opportunity. The money she has donated to U.S. Soccer is all earmarked for those initiatives. With that foundation, the product of women's soccer can flourish at a scale beyond just a few clubs -- that's the plan, at least.