A Potential New Era for OL Reign, Washington Spirit, and Lyon?

Earlier this month, news broke that Michele Kang would acquire the majority ownership stake in Olympique Lyonnais’ women’s side. Lyon and OL Reign are both owned by OL Groupe.

Lyon has been a powerhouse in women’s soccer for quite some time, and for a while, they set the standard for clubs worldwide. However, now all signs point to a change in leadership coming.

OL Groupe has denied the reports of Kang taking over majority ownership of Lyon, but they did confirm that they are looking to sell their stake in the ownership of OL Reign.

If Kang is to buy majority ownership of the women’s team, she’d be taking over the ownership from John Textor, who acquired Lyon late last year. He hasn’t done much with the women’s side of the club, but none of this has been confirmed.

Before joining the world of women’s soccer, Kang founded a company called Cognosante, an innovative health technology provider. In terms of soccer, though, we know Kang from what she did with the Washington Spirit.

Kang originally joined the Washington Spirit’s ownership group in 2020. After over a year of trying to take full ownership of the team, she purchased the Spirit from the former owner, Steve Baldwin. Baldwin was problematic for upholding what was described as “an old boys club” in the club’s front office.

One thing is for sure: Kang has shown her commitment to growing the sport of women’s soccer.

A New Look Spirit and Reign?

One thing that we do know is that the Washington Spirit is going through a rebrand. Kang has confirmed that much. The rebrand has already gotten underway. This season, the Spirit went with a more black-and-white look instead of the traditional blue and red.

If Kang does purchase Lyon, it’s possible that the rebrand of the Spirit could also involve OL, similar to how the OL Reign rebrand went.

OL Reign has been through a lot in terms of change. OL Groupe purchased the Reign in 2017, and in 2019 they relocated to Tacoma. They stayed there until 2021, when they moved back to Seattle to play at Lumen Field. After OL Groupe purchased the Reign, they also went through a rebrand, changing their logo, name, and colors. When OL Reign is sold yet again, there will likely be another rebrand with the Reign. After that, they could return back to their previous name, the Seattle Reign.

Overall, if the sale goes through, the Spirit and OL will be linked through Kang, and the Reign will be under new ownership. In addition to a potential rebrand, if the Spirit links with Lyon, they could enjoy sharing players and resources the same way OL Reign and Lyon did.

While we don’t know how this will all look, it could spark change for all three teams!

Featured image via Getty Images

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