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League: Champions LeagueSport: SoccerCountry: EnglandCategory: Scores & Results

London City Lionesses implement aggressive recruitment strategy to pursue Champions League qualification

11 sources • 3 min read • Latest: Sep 7, 2026, 8:45 AM

Last updated Sep 7, 2026

London City Lionesses implement aggressive recruitment strategy to pursue Champions League qualification
Summary

London City Lionesses have signed high-profile talent including Alexia Putellas, Mary Earps, Mapi Leon, and Kadidiatou Diani to strengthen their roster. The club, owned by Michele Kang, is employing an 'invest before revenue' strategy to secure a spot in the Champions League and grow the team's commercial profile. This approach coincides with a new multi-year shirt sponsorship deal with Nike, which the club claims exceeds current top-tier benchmarks in women's sports. While the Women’s Super League has implemented new financial rules, London City maintains compliance by utilizing owner-provided funding alongside projected revenue growth. Club accounts for the 2024-25 period indicate that despite significant investment, no individual player holds a base salary exceeding £1 million. The long-term success of this strategy rests on the club's ability to drive sponsorship and audience growth to support current wage commitments under the league's squad salary requirements.

Source Links
Yahoo SportsBBC SportBBC NewsSky Sports Football
Status Watch
  • •London City Lionesses added Alexia Putellas, Mary Earps, Mapi Leon, and Kadidiatou Diani to their squad.
  • •The club secured a multi-year front-of-shirt partnership with Nike.
  • •Women's Super League financial rules limit salary spending to 80 percent of annual revenue plus capped owner funding.
  • •No player currently receives a baseline salary exceeding £1 million per year.
  • •Michele Kang purchased the club in 2023 and achieved promotion to the top flight in 2025.
Latest Updates
  • 8:45 AMYahoo Sports — Fan views - are London City good for women's football?
  • 10:02 PMYahoo Sports — How London City proved they can live up to the hype
  • 10:02 PMBBC Sport — How London City proved they can live up to the hype
  • 10:02 PMBBC News — How London City proved they can live up to the hype - BBC
  • 8:05 PMYahoo Sports — London City Lionesses ease to opening day win over Man Utd
  • 1:43 PMYahoo Sports — Match preview: London City v Manchester United Women
  • 5:00 AMYahoo Sports — London City Lionesses have disrupted women’s football – but one question remains
  • 4:16 AMYahoo Sports — Earps, Putellas and how London City can afford their high-profile transfers
What they're saying
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The names just kept coming, one after the other: Alexia Putellas, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner; Mary Earps, named the best women’s goalkeeper by FIFA in 2022 and 2023; Mapi Leon, a four-time Champions League winner; and Kadidiatou Diani, who has earned more than 100 caps for France. But how are the London City Lionesses, owned by American businesswoman Michele Kang, complying with the Women’s Super League’s financial rules to pay these big-name players? What is London City’s strategy? Invest be

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Manchester United are set to kick off the 2026/27 Barclays Women’s Super League season, and a new era under head coach Eva Olid, with Friday’s trip to London City Lionesses. The 19:00 BST start at the CopperJax Community Stadium in Bromley will offer fans a first look at Olid’s Reds in competitive action, following the […]

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London City Lionesses are the Women's Super League's great unknown. A club modest in size, with flashy budgets and ambitions well beyond what would reasonably be considered possible for a side only promoted to the top flight 12 months ago.

Related Teams & Leagues
Manchester UnitedChelseaWest Ham UnitedAston VillaEvertonLiverpoolManchester CityArsenalBarcelonaChampions LeagueSoccer

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