“The worst thing we can do to women’s football is to copy and paste,” once remarked Michele Kang—a prominent name in the business world and, in soccer, the owner of three major domestic teams—during an interview with ESPN. The American magnate has consistently championed the growth and individuality of the women’s game. And rightly so—with a strict policy of no imitation of the men’s game, it’s only natural that Kang took the call to rename her part-owned French side, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, to OL Lyonnes. But from the looks of it, that change policy now seems set to take over her NWSL side, the Washington Spirit.

The founder & CEO of Kynisca Sports International, who bought the American club in 2022, isn’t stopping herself from bringing waves into the women’s game, with the latest decision being rebranding the world’s most successful women’s club with a new name and logo. While the name sees the word ‘Féminin‘ get removed, Kang also went rogue in replacing the “i” with a “y” in the French spelling to at least retain some connection to the French club’s men’s team and the city.

More importantly, “Lyonnes” blends the French word for “lioness” with a nod to the city of Lyon. As for the logo, the old classic blue, red, and Lyon badge which also had a lion inside it has been changed with a fierce red lioness, highlighted with touches of blue and gold. Interestingly, this name somewhat resembles Michele Kang’s third project, London City Lionesses which recently gained promotion from WSL Championship to WSL.

Hence, attention automatically shifts towards her NWSL side Washington Spirit. Already, the DC-based club has been undergoing a years-long brand transition, even though no clear timeline has yet been revealed for an official rebrand. Then again, the talking point is that most likely, it’s time for the American side to announce a potential name change.

Not to mention, Kang is also eager to add a fourth team to her soccer investment portfolio. In an earlier interview with ESPN, it was revealed that the team will come from a new continent and will be part of the American businesswoman’s consortium of soccer clubs, Kynisca.

The NWSL side, which has been around for more than a decade has gained quite success under Kang. While they closely lost their chance on the 2024 Shield and Championship vs Orlando Pride, their Challenge Cup hopes came to fruition. So it won’t be a surprise to see Michele take charge to make some changes around Washington Spirit.

In fact, just like she mentioned for OL Lyonnes it’s “not just about name change or logo change,” and similar will be the case for the NWSL side.

A promise set to be fulfilled for Washington Spirit!

“New Story, Same Legend,” is the new motto of OL Lyonnes. Keeping this mentality, Michele Kang even announced her plans to construct a new, female-focused performance center for OL Lyonnes. Not only will it boast women-specific training facilities, but it will also house Europe’s first club-led women’s football museum. Interestingly, Sports Business Journal reports that architectural firm F3 is leading the project.

Though the exact budget in number is yet to be agreed, Kang said it’s not going to be cheap. For now, the OL Lyonnes will exchange training facilities with the club’s boys’ academy—a decision that Kang insisted was mutual. In addition, the Lyon ladies will now play all home matches at the 59,000-seat Groupama Stadium, moving away from the 1,524-seat Stade Gérard Houllier, where the team previously played most of its games.

Now, given how OL Lyonnes is also getting its facilities changed alongside a name and logo, we believe you must have connected all the dots by now. Yes, even Washington Spirit can get such a change. In an exclusive chat with ESPN, Michele Kang revealed her plans for revamping the NWSL team’s facilities.

The process was, however, delayed as other sports teams in the town took priority as they proved to be a “much bigger economic proposition” for the city. However, the 65-year-old businesswoman assured that the team is in talks with government organizations on potentially allowing them to use some of their lands. When further asked about plans for making Audi Field,a “Spirit-first type of place” Kang responded by saying that it’s a partnership they have to build with DC United, who own the stadium. She also explained that it’s the reason why she would want to build a separate stadium for Rodman and co., but it’s a challenge considering there’s only so many stadiums that can be built in the DC region. As for her plans to navigate the challenges, she did not reveal much, saying, “We’re working on it, but there are limits as to how far you can go.”

Either way, this is a clear indication that the Washington Spirit is set for some remarkable changes. Let’s see when that happens.