London City Lionesses: The rise of a football club unlike any other

By Charlotte Marsh, Sky Sports senior football journalist

London City were born from the Millwall Lionesses, who were a key club in the early promotion of women’s football in England. They were the first club to have a female ‘Centre of Excellence’ and won the Women’s FA Cup twice in the 1990s.

England legend Hope Powell began her career with Millwall Lionesses, but the age-old story of a lack of investment saw the club teeter on the edge of administration.

In May 2019, it was announced that the women's team would break away from Millwall to form their own club, to be named the London City Lionesses. Their licence for the Women’s Championship was also transferred to the new entity.

The new club was funded by entrepreneur Anthony Culligan and his wife, Diane Culligan, who took over the club’s operations as well as serving as chairwoman.

And 2023 proved to be a pivotal year. London City sat top of the Women's Championship - now named WSL2 - in January, but manager Melissa Phillips departed the club for Angel City FC.

Six months later, the squad wrote to Diane Culligan asking her to sell or secure additional investment, saying the club’s "very existence" was under threat. At the time, only four players were going to be contracted on July 1, and there were questions over permanent staff roles and injury management.

It did not take long for the Culligans to find a buyer and, in December 2023, American businesswoman Michelle Kang bought the club.

Under her guidance, promotion to the WSL promotion took 18 months.

Kang has sometimes been a divisive figure. Her aim is to prove that female teams do not need the support of a men’s club, that women’s football is worth investing in as its own product.

So far, she has been proven right.

London City were the second club she purchased, the first being NWSL side Washington Spirit. She went on, in 2024, to acquire eight-time Women’s Champions League winners Lyon, who are now known as OL Lyonnes – another move from Kang to help establish the club as their own entity.

And while she may attract criticism from outside, those inside London City have nothing but praise for her.

"She's a pioneer. She's paving the way for the next generation of powerful women,” London City Lionesses captain Kosovare Asllani exclusively told Sky Sports.

“People always have opinions, saying ‘oh wow, now she's coming in and buying these teams, that's not fair’, but are people saying that about the City Group on the men's side?

“I'm just surprised no one has done it before. She's a businesswoman that knows what she's doing.

“She has an aura and is unapologetically herself. She understood that we have the product here, what is lacking is the investment - and you need to be able to take that step.

“You see how much women's football is growing and I think that is the difference between her and everyone else - she got it. She understood what every single player is saying in women's football.

“We had the same ambition and the same mindset and the same core values of what the club stands for and where women's football is heading.”

Asllani was one of a number of eyebrow-raising captures in Kang’s first summer as owner that showed the South Korean-born entrepreneur meant business.

The forward has played for the likes of Manchester City – where she won the WSL in 2016 – Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. She is also an experienced international for Sweden, and their captain.

She said: “I had never heard about London City Lionesses before the club approached me. Michelle, she flew into Milan to see me - that's an invested person.

“And [she had] the ambition of the project, of building a team that will win things as soon as possible in England. 

“It's brave to go to a team in the second division. I've never played in the second tier in my whole life, even when I was a kid, but it was worth it because, for me, the thing that made me choose it is that Michelle is investing. 

“She's a doer. She doesn't just talk and I've been waiting for someone to invest into women's football and show it.”

Kang’s clearly masterful skills of negotiation also attracted manager Jocelyn Precheur from PSG, a move which took him from a Champions League-challenging side to England’s second tier.

She had already managed to lure Barcelona manager Jonatan Giraldez to Washington Spirit in 2023. He is now set to take over at OL Lyonnes for the upcoming campaign.

Discussing his own reasons for joining London City, Precheur exclusively told Sky Sports: “I always wanted to be in England - for the women's football culture, women's fans, women's players, this is the place to be. 

“The second reason is Michelle. She really convinced me to do something different. I have worked on the women's side, in different roles, for more than 15 years, and I was fortunate to work at a club who invested a lot in women's football, but it never was the priority. 

“I understood this, but being part of the project where absolutely all the resources are dedicated to the women's team, I didn't want to miss that.

“Her wish is to change the women's side in terms of knowledge and methodology. As a coach, I am very excited about this and it's also challenging how I can be better.

“It's a possibility to create something different. It's really very motivating for me. I was convinced very fast.

“You can be the best coach, but if the inspiration and the direction doesn't come from the top, you can do nothing. Here, it's very clear and it makes my job so much simpler. 

“It's also extra motivation for me because when you have such a great leader, you don't want to disappoint her, so it's a pressure, but also exciting. You want to do your best every day when you arrive at work.”

One of the biggest draws of London City for players, staff and fans, is the sole focus on women's football. Everyone at the club is working towards the team's success without ties to a men's side.

It is certainly what attracted Asllani and striker Isobel Goodwin to the club last summer, with the two vital in London City's promotion-winning campaign.

"As a player, you always had to demand or ask. I was tired of that," Asllani said.

"When the London City Lionesses came into the picture, I got the gut feeling - which was scary because they were in division two - that 'this is what you're meant to do at this stage of your career'.

"It was the right thing to do to help the first independent women's team to play in the WSL and we did it in one season."

Goodwin began her career with Aston Villa, and has seen the progression of the London City project from its inception in 2019.

"I've been at men's clubs before where it's just all about them and the boys' academy and all of that, but here, it's all about us and it's nice to feel wanted," she exclusively told Sky Sports.

"It's been such a huge project. I've seen it from what it was like six years ago, seeing it come up, and it's exciting knowing there's so much more to come.

"Hopefully we can go on and win more trophies and create more history. I hope to be a part of it for many more years."

Precheur, meanwhile, sees the London City project as a source of inspiration for others and what can be achieved when women's football gets investment.

"It is something everyone can be proud of, but it's a pressure for us because we have no right to fail," he said.

"We are the first independent club in the WSL, we need to prove we can do it and it can be done by anyone. 

"Maybe in England, it is advanced compared to other countries and how women's football is developing. And now you won the Euros, it will be even faster than before.

"As an independent club, [the Lionesses are] trying to convince in England and other countries to follow the way because players and women's football fans deserve more and deserve better."

While the investment in London City is clear, that does not always translate to a successful team on the pitch.

And the 2024/25 season was not always plain sailing for the Bromley-based side. They went into the last game of the season two points ahead of Birmingham – and they visited St Andrew’s on the final day.

Knowing a point would be enough to see them to promotion, they drew 2-2 – although they had been 2-0 ahead – to secure their spot as Championship winners. Goodwin scored that day and Asllani assisted both goals.

Precheur reflected: “A year ago, almost everyone said it would be too difficult to do it in one year, but we had a very fast evolution. 

“It was the job of so many people. Players first, but staff also, and I tried to show the way, but the commitment of everyone was amazing.

“We had a hard time in the autumn when we could have collapsed, but we held on and we made an outstanding second part of the season.

“It was because everyone believed in this project, nobody wanted to fail. When there was still hope, we didn't give up at all.

“We focused day-by-day on how we can improve, and I don't want to change the philosophy because now, it will be another tough season.

“We have everything we need, but we need to be sure our foundations are strong enough to be ready to compete in the best league in the world.”

With her wealth of experience, it was not only Asllani’s clear talents on the pitch that helped London City. As captain, she had to feed the right culture off of it too.

She said: “It was an action-orientated year. Personally, it was about getting people on the same page as fast as possible.

“It's a huge achievement to do that in one season, to be able to create a winning team in that league that fast. You need to have the right players, the right characters, the people that help the new players settle.

“You also need to create a culture of the team. You want to have a winning culture, so you need to demand things. You need to have a high-performance environment and you need to do it really fast.

"You also need an environment where players feel safe enough to achieve their highest potential. The environment of creating the relations between the players where you don't feel like an outsider. 

"You want to be welcoming [players], to get into the structure, to be able to sit with whoever you want to at the dinner table. 

"That is what we wanted to create here because that's crucial for a winning team to have, where people can be kind to each other and take away everything that otherwise comes with high-performance football. That balance is really important for me."

Then, there were the goals.

Goodwin won the Women's Championship's Golden Boot, scoring 16 goals and being named the league's Player of the Season.

It followed her 15 goals in 19 games for Sheffield United the year before, showing her prowess for WSL2 goalscoring - but can she replicate it in the WSL?

"I'm just a girl that runs in behind, so if someone puts the ball in behind, I'm running for it. Playing at all these big stadiums, I think they suit me and I've got my toe on the end of things," she said.

"I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully, it follows the same in the WSL. I feel like I've proved myself in the WSL2 and now I can get my name out there because I've not really played in the WSL before."

England's second league was well-known to some at London City last season but for others, it offered a new - and unexpected - challenge.

"It was very surprising," Precheur said of the WSL2. "It was absolutely not what I expected. 

"Everyone told me, first year, it will be an easy season, but wow, absolutely not. I was positively impressed by the quality of the league.

"It’s probably the most challenging league I've had in my young career. Everyone can win against everyone and nothing is decided yet.

"I am looking forward to seeing what the WSL will be in terms of intensity. If the WSL2 is high enough, I cannot imagine how it will be in the WSL.

"But if you want to be challenged as a coach and a player, this is where you need to play."

Asllani added: "I was positively surprised by the quality of the league, especially the best teams like Newcastle, Bristol City, Birmingham. They’re teams that invest a lot in their [women's] team as well. 

"But also the stadiums we played in... if you played in the second-tier league in Sweden, you would have been where the kids are playing. There were better stadiums in the WSL2 than I played in Sweden, France, Spain or Italy."

This season, she and her team will be playing at some of England's biggest stadiums - starting with Arsenal's Emirates in their first WSL game on the opening weekend of the season.

Games do not come much bigger than Arsenal away - quite the baptism of fire for the WSL's newest team.

"It's not an easy one for sure, but it cannot be better than that," Precheur said.

"Look at the history of the club, how amazing it is and the first game of our history in the WSL, we play the champions of Europe in an amazing stadium.

"And honestly, we have nothing to lose. I see not many people expect us to do something, which is easier for us in terms of management.

"Whatever happens, we will have a lot of lessons from this game so, for me, only positive things."

While Arsenal will certainly be difficult, it will arguably not be London City's biggest battle this season. That will come against the teams around them as they look to avoid relegation.

In the last two years, the promoted teams - Bristol City and Crystal Palace - have gone straight back down. London City are determined to avoid that.

And once again, the investment in players has been vast from Kang and her staff.

London City have signed 13 players this summer, including seasoned professionals and serial winners in Nikita Parris, Danielle van de Donk and Elena Linari to name just three.

Jana Fernandez was another eye-catching signing, with the 23-year-old joining from Barcelona.

As she did last summer, Kang is stating her intent before a ball has even been kicked. A post on X announcing Parris' signing stated: "We didn't come to play".

It gives Precheur an impressive squad with which to compete in a league where every point and goal could mean the difference between thriving or battling relegation.

"These new players are essential for me on and off the pitch," he said.

"I'm very happy the club decided to invest. We have a sporting director [Markel Zubizarreta] now in the club, so he's really in charge of the recruitment.

"We knew after the Birmingham game we needed to be stronger. We don't want to repeat the same story as Bristol City and Crystal Palace, and we know the gap is huge today between the WSL2 and the WSL.

"The biggest challenge for me is we need to create a team and make them play together. But as a club, we need to create a culture of the high level, which didn't exist when I arrived. 

"We have a lot of energy, we have a very good dynamic but I know based on my previous experience, a high level requires more than that.

"So now, we are building the foundations, but it's also the moment for us to start to focus on details. This is where I expect a lot from experienced players like Nikita, Danielle, Kosovare last season, and Saki [Kumagai] when she arrived.

"I know they will be very helpful for me to create the culture we need to perform at a high level during a long season in the WSL."

So the players, manager and staff are in place, the club is well-supported financially and they have reached the pinnacle of the women's game in England.

That just leaves the big question - can London City Lionesses stay up?

"Yes", Asllani said simply, but confidently.

"We are a new team in the league, but we are not an inexperienced team. We have experienced players all over the squad.

"We have players winning the Champions League and playing in big tournaments with their countries. 

"And we are London City Lionesses, we're writing history. We're not going to go down."

How to follow the WSL on Sky Sports this season

You can follow all the twists and turns of London City Lionesses' historic first season in the WSL across Sky Sports - the home of the WSL.

Sky Sports will be embarking on a new five-year partnership with the WSL, showing 90 per cent of all Women's Super League matches from the 2025/26 season. Sky Sports will show 118 live games, including 78 exclusively

From this season, most Women's Super League matches will kick-off at 12pm on Sundays - subject to stadium availability - giving fans a regular and accessible viewing window.

Sky Sports will broadcast matches concurrently across channels, including Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports+ and the Sky Sports app, offering greater choice and visibility.

On Sky Sports' digital platforms, there will be extensive live match coverage, including minute-by-minute blogs, plus free in-game clips from games shown live on Sky Sports.

There will also be free match highlights from EVERY WSL game this season.

Pitch to Pod also returns with Jordan Nobbs and London City Lionesses Nikita Parris, joined by Caroline Barker to review the latest talking points from the WSL and beyond.