U.S. Soccer Launches Kang Women’s Institute to Transform Health and Performance in the Women’s Game

December 2, 2025

U.S. Soccer announced the launch of the Kang Women’s Institute, a first-of-its-kind platform designed to accelerate advancements in the women’s game through science, innovation, and elevated best practices.

Made possible through a transformative investment from business leader and women’s sports advocate Michele Kang, the Kang Institute will establish research-backed best practices to inform the training and wellbeing of women and girls at every level of the sport.

Currently, only a small fraction of global sports research is dedicated to women. A recent analysis shows that only 6% of published research in sports and exercise journals is focused exclusively on women, a disparity that has left generations of female soccer players training under models built for male physiology. This gap has contributed to disproportionate injury rates, limited health guidance, and systems that do not reflect the realities of the women’s game.

The development of the Kang Institute builds upon Kang’s historic investments in women’s sports. In November 2024, she pledged a $30 million gift, one of the largest philanthropic commitments in the history of U.S. Soccer, to scale competitive opportunities for youth players, expand talent identification, and fuel professional development for female players, coaches, and referees. In April 2025, Kang deepened her commitment to U.S. Soccer through an additional $25 million investment to integrate the Kynisca Innovation Hub into Soccer Forward’s research initiatives. yahoo!