London City Lionesses: Kosovare Asllani and ex-PSG boss Jocelyn Precheur joins Championship club (2024)

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Championship club London City Lionesses have secured two headline arrivals as they target promotion to the Women's Super League.

Lionesses, who finished eighth in the women's second tier last season, have named former Paris St-Germain boss Jocelyn Precheur as their manager.

They also confirmed the signing of Sweden striker Kosovare Asllani, among a number of major announcements on Thursday.

"We will do our best to be promoted after one season," Precheur told a media conference on Thursday.

"We also have to show humility and work. We have to create cohesion between new players and show identity in the way we play."

Asllani, 34, was part of the Sweden side who finished third at the 2023 Women's World Cup and joins on a two-year deal.

She won the WSL with Manchester City in 2016 and is a two-time Olympic silver medallist.

The moves come after Lionesses were taken over by American businesswoman Michele Kang in December 2023.

"The reason I'm here is because of Michele, to work with the most powerful woman in the business intrigued me," Asllani said.

"People may have called me crazy. I had the chance to go to the biggest clubs in the world, but the project called to me. The English league is the best in the world, and I am here for promotion - I do not want to be in this division [the Championship] for long.

"I see someone investing in the project, who is a doer. I left the room feeling, 'I want to work with her'."

Kang said that fans should "stay tuned" for up to seven high-profile signings for Lionesses this summer with Asllani being just the first, and that the "train has left the station" when it comes to growth and investment in women's football.`

The club have also bought their training ground, it was announced, and will play their games next season at 5,000-capacity Hayes Lane.

That will mean them groundsharing at the home of League Two club Bromley, as Lionesses relocate from Princes Park in Dartford.

Kang, who also owns French giants Lyon Feminin and National Women's Soccer League side Washington Spirit in the United States, has ambitious plans for London City.

They are one of only two sides from the Championship, along with Durham, not to be directly associated with a club in the men's Premier League or Football League.

London's bold approach comes at a time of change for English women's football, with the WSL and Championship switching from being run by the Football Association to an independent organisation, termed 'Newco'.

"I told my players and staff we are not competing with men's football, we are in the entertainment business," Kang said.

"Why would you come to our game, 13 weekends in a row? We have to convince fans that this is the best way to spend their evening.

"Based on my experience in the US it [investment] is contagious, people see that it works. You see Arsenal, at the men's stadium they sell out. No-one thought that would be a reality, but here we are."

Kang has said multi-club ownership is a "necessity" in women's football. While such networks, including City Football Group and the Red Bull stable of clubs, are more common in the men's game, there is no major group currently operating in the women's top level.

That is now changing with London City, under Kang, targeting promotion to the WSL for the first time.

"I am fully aware of negative connotations of multi-club, but I submit to you that on the women's side multi-club is a necessity," Kang said.

"We need to invest, to unlock potential women's football has. As soon as I took over Spirit two years ago, I learned the women's team borrow their training manuals from the men's team and just make it less intense.

"We are in the business of producing the best football games for fans, so taking care of players is the number one priority. With one team, that is not possible because it takes a lot of money. But if you have multi-team, you can pool resources.

"We are not going to sacrifice one team to make another successful - we want each team to be a champion in their league. It is not about moving players around. We will make sure each team is successful."

London City, who have played in the Championship since being formed in 2019, finished just nine points above the relegation zone last season.

These announcements mark a remarkable turnaround in the club's fortunes. Last summer, a group of 20 players signed a letter urging the previous ownership to invest or seek a new buyer amid concerns over the club's long-term future.

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