Bay FC Overview
Bay Football Club, commonly known as Bay FC, is a professional women’s soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area that competes in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The club began play in 2024 as an NWSL expansion team, representing the first top-division women’s professional soccer team in the region since the San Jose CyberRays and FC Gold Pride. The team plays its home matches at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, a soccer-specific venue that also hosts the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. Bay FC is led by majority owner Sixth Street Partners, with a distinguished minority ownership group that includes former United States women’s national team players and prominent business figures.
Based in the Western Conference, Bay FC is identified by its primary colors of blue, called Bay, and warm red, called Poppy, along with secondary shades of Fog Gray and Steel. The club’s visual identity centers on a circular crest featuring a blackletter monogram of the letter B, designed to evoke the support towers of the Golden Gate Bridge. In its first two seasons, Bay FC has focused on building a competitive roster, securing a record-setting signing, and investing in long-term infrastructure to establish itself within the NWSL.
Founding and Organizational Origins
The path to Bay FC began on June 21, 2022, when former United States women’s national team players Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner launched a campaign called NWSL to the Bay. Their goal was to bring an NWSL expansion franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area, a region that had not hosted top-flight women’s professional soccer since the disbanding of the San Jose CyberRays of the Women’s United Soccer Association and FC Gold Pride of Women’s Professional Soccer. The group’s efforts to pursue an expansion team had actually started in 2020, shortly after Angel City FC was founded in Los Angeles by some of their former national team teammates.
Chastain, Osborne, Slaton, and Wagner were joined by sports, media, and technology executive Jen Vescio, and together the five women assembled a founding board that included Tim Connors, Ward Bullard, and CJ Napolitano. The Motley Fool and Anne Hoge were also added to the board of directors during the early capital-raising phase. In May 2021, the group brought on David Aufhauser, another sports, media, and technology executive, to lead the formal bid for an NWSL expansion franchise. The Bay Area group competed with bids from several other cities, including Columbus, Atlanta, Austin, Cincinnati, Toronto, St. Louis, and Nashville, before ultimately being selected by the league.
Growth Into NWSL Competition
By December 2022, the NWSL had reportedly narrowed its second 2024 expansion slot to a choice between the Bay Area bid, a bid in the former Boston Breakers market, and a bid in Tampa, Florida. Reports also revealed the involvement of San Francisco-based investment firm Sixth Street Partners as the lead investor in the Bay Area group. By January 2023, further reports indicated that Tampa had been eliminated and that the Bay Area and Boston would both be awarded expansion teams, with expansion fees estimated at $50 million each. On April 4, 2023, the NWSL formally awarded one of its two planned 2024 expansion teams to the Bay Area group at a reported $53 million expansion fee.
Following the award, the club built its early operational structure with several senior hires. Brady Stewart, a former Levi Strauss & Co. executive, was named the club’s first chief executive officer on June 14, 2023. Lucy Rushton was announced as the club’s first general manager the following day, and Golden State Warriors chief marketing officer Jen Millet joined as chief operating officer on July 18, 2023. On September 27, 2023, Albertin Montoya was named the team’s first head coach. The club’s first-ever player signing came on November 15, 2023, when defender Alex Loera joined from the Kansas City Current. The roster continued to take shape in the following months, setting the stage for Bay FC’s debut in the 2024 NWSL season.
Bay FC Competitive Journey
Bay FC’s racing progression across the NWSL has unfolded rapidly, marked by ambitious investments, record-breaking signings, and the typical growing pains of an expansion franchise. The club entered the league with a strong financial foundation and a clear focus on long-term competitiveness, signaling its intent to become a sustained presence in the top tier of American women’s soccer.
Early Seasons and Development (2023–2024)
Before the team’s first competitive match, Bay FC made a major statement in the global transfer market. On February 13, 2024, the club signed Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF for $860,000, a transfer that set a new record for the most expensive signing in women’s soccer history. The deal was structured to run through 2027, with an option to extend for an additional year. This landmark acquisition was a clear signal of Bay FC’s ambitions and helped generate significant attention for the expansion club heading into its inaugural season.
Bay FC began NWSL play in 2024 at PayPal Park, the 18,000-seat home of the San Jose Earthquakes. On July 21, 2023, the club had announced a five-year agreement to play at the San Jose venue while planning for a future stadium of its own. As part of the agreement, a new 3,600-square-foot facility was constructed at PayPal Park to house the team’s locker room and office spaces. Early sponsorships and partnerships, combined with the strong ownership group’s profile, helped the club establish an immediate presence in the league.
Modern Program and Current Direction (2024–Present)
By the 2025 NWSL season, Bay FC was working to translate its significant investments into competitive results. The team finished second from bottom of the league standings in 2025, placing 13th out of 14 clubs and failing to qualify for the playoffs. Following the conclusion of the season, head coach Albertin Montoya announced in September 2025 that he would resign at the end of the campaign. The club moved quickly to identify his successor.
On December 4, 2025, Bay FC announced the hiring of Emma Coates, formerly the manager of the England women’s under-23 team, as the club’s new head coach. The appointment signaled a clear commitment to refreshing the team’s approach on the field. The club also continues to develop its long-term infrastructure, having broken ground in September 2025 on a new performance center on Treasure Island. With the NWSL to the Bay investor group, Sixth Street Partners’ 10-year ownership commitment, and a new coaching leader in place, Bay FC has outlined a long-term vision centered on sustained competitive growth.
Philosophy and Competitive Strengths
Bay FC’s identity is shaped by a commitment to long-term roster investment, modern training infrastructure, and a high-profile ownership structure that brings together institutional capital and elite playing experience. The club’s willingness to set a transfer record for Racheal Kundananji reflects an aggressive approach to talent acquisition, while the appointment of Emma Coates as head coach points to an emphasis on tactical development and international experience. The team’s collaboration with the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park also gives Bay FC access to a proven professional environment as it builds its own standalone identity.
Key Milestones and Major Moments
Bay FC’s most significant milestones include the awarding of the expansion franchise on April 4, 2023, the unveiling of the club’s name and crest on June 1, 2023, and the announcement of the PayPal Park agreement on July 21, 2023. The signing of Racheal Kundananji in February 2024 set a new global record for the most expensive transfer in women’s soccer history. In 2025, the club broke ground on its new Treasure Island performance center and appointed Emma Coates as head coach, marking a new chapter in the club’s young history.
Bay FC Achievements and Results
As a young expansion club, Bay FC’s competitive record is still developing. The team has not yet captured a league championship, conference title, or division title, and its primary on-field achievement to date is the 2025 season in which the club finished 13th out of 14 NWSL teams. The club’s broader accomplishments have largely been organizational, including securing one of the largest expansion fees in NWSL history and committing to a record-setting transfer for Racheal Kundananji.
NWSL Achievements
Bay FC entered the NWSL as an expansion team in 2024 and has yet to record a league title, a playoff appearance, or a major trophy win. The 2025 season ended with a 13th-place finish out of 14 teams, and the team did not qualify for the playoffs. Despite the lack of silverware, the club has attracted international attention through its landmark transfer of Racheal Kundananji, the most expensive signing in women’s soccer history at the time of her arrival.
