On 13 May 2019, a statement was released by
Millwall F.C. announcing that the board of directors and senior management at the team's official women's affiliate,
Millwall Lionesses, had declared their intentions to split from the club, becoming an independent entity and operating under a new name. The breakaway was already agreed in principle by
the FA. The transfer of Millwall's Championship licence was officially approved by the FA on 29 June 2019. The newly-independent club's operations were funded from 2019 by
blockchain entrepreneur Anthony Culligan and his wife Diane Culligan, with Diane serving as chairwoman and running the club's operations. The start of the 2022–23 season saw considerable optimism from club management after England's triumph in the
2022 Euros drove an increase in club season-ticket sales. London City Lionesses hit challenges later that season, however, with their manager
Melissa Phillips resigning in January 2023 to take an assistant manager role with
Angel City FC, despite the club sitting in first place. In June 2023, all 20 of the club's players sent a collective message to owner Diane Culligan asking her to sell the club or raise additional investment, citing financial instability, a lack of players signed for the upcoming season and the lack of a permanent manager. On 15 December 2023, the Culligans sold the club to entrepreneur and
Washington Spirit owner
Michele Kang for an undisclosed price. On 27 June 2024 Kang announced the signing of
Kosovare Asllani, captain of the
Sweden national side, and the appointment of
Jocelyn Prêcheur, formerly of
Paris St Germain, as the new manager. The signing of Asllani, who has previously played for
Manchester City,
Real Madrid and
AC Milan, was described as "a statement of intent that will have raised eyebrows around the global women's game."On 27 July 2024, Kang announced the launch of Kynisca Sports International Ltd., a worldwide multi-team organisation to provide the infrastructure to support the development of London City Lionesses alongside sister clubs
Washington Spirit and
OL Lyonnes. Under Kynisca, it was intended that each club would retain its own established identity, but that there would be a shared, central capability for aspects such as performance science and technology, data analytics, global scouting, and sporting staff development. On 4 May 2025, London City Lionesses became the first fully independent team to be promoted to the top women’s league (
Women's Super League), after drawing with
Birmingham City in the final game of the season. The promotion-deciding final match was the first time a game in the Women's Championship, the second tier of the
WSL, was broadcast live on
Sky Sports as well as being available on YouTube. == Training facilities ==