To those beginning their journey supporting the women’s game, or even those expanding their interests from internationals to club football, there are few surprises as to the WSL’s make up. The league shares similar teams to that of the Premier League, boasting giants such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool amongst others. However, amongst the twelve clubs that make up the topflight of England, viewers will find the perhaps unfamiliar London City Lionesses.
The London City Lionesses are a football club based in Bromley, London. They find themselves in a unique position of being the only independent club in either the WSL or WSL 2 and are in fact the first fully independent club to ever reach the WSL. Their roots go back to 2019, forming following a breakaway from Millwall due to disagreements over finances. Following the split, the Lionesses achieved respectable finishes in WSL 2, becoming a consistent top-half side.
Whilst the split from Millwall was clearly monumental in their history, a bigger moment came in 2023. This was the year that current owner, Michele Kang acquired the club. Kang, who has been praised for her investment into the women’s game, controls a multi-club ownership consisting of London City Lionesses, Olympique Lyoness (now separate from the men’s Olympic Lyonnais of whom she is president) as well as Washington Spirit. Last season, following investment from Kang into the club, the Lionesses clinched promotion to the WSL.
With their promotion, the lionesses had to prepare to face teams with more investment and a higher calibre of players. With this in mind, Kang made further investments into the club. By the end of the transfer window, the Lionesses had brought in sixteen new players from across the footballing world. They had signed numerous high-calibre players of their own, including Danielle van de Donk, Nikita Parris, and Jana Fernandez. Most notably, however, was the world record signing of former PSG star Grace Geyoro.
The investment made by Kang into the women’s game, and the Lionesses in particular, has been well met by the majority, coming as questions continue to be raised regarding the lack of investment made by Premier League clubs into their women’s sides. This imbalance can be seen by comparing Liverpool’s women’s record signing of £210,000 with Liverpool men’s summer transfer spending which has been reported at over £400 million.
The Lionesses faced a difficult start to their debut season in the WSL, facing Arsenal, Manchester United, and Manchester City in three of their first four games. Despite the investments made, the Lionesses lost all three games by considerable margins, conceding a total of thirteen goals. However, their quality has begun to show since facing weaker opposition and now they find themselves sixth at the time of writing, after eight games played.
The impressive rise of the London City Lionesses acts as more than just another footballing success story. It is a statement that the women’s game is, in itself, an investment, and not a second thought behind priorities placed on the men’s game. The club’s success rebuts any assumption that the women’s team must rely on a financially stable men’s side. This observation can be seen across the US, as well as at Barcelona Femeni who dominate and are profitable despite the financial difficulties seen by the club as a whole.
Whether the London City Lionesses can establish themselves among the WSL’s top sides and break into the established top four is yet to be seen, but their progress so far has certainly been impressive, and has pushed the conversation about equality and investment in the women’s game.