The National Women’s Soccer League is officially set to have 14 teams for the 2024 season. The league announced on Tuesday that it has awarded an expansion club to the Bay Area, California for next year. The northern California club will be the third California team added to the league in just two years. The expansion bid is backed by leading global investment firm Sixth Street and comes with a record-breaking fee of $53 million.
The expansion news comes just weeks after the announcement of Utah Royals as the league’s 13th team. The arrival of the two new teams will nearly double the league’s size from its inaugural season which fielded just eight teams in 2013. It’s the second consecutive wave of expansion to feature two incoming teams since Los Angeles and San Diego both joined the league in 2022.
“The number of bids and the increase in the league’s expansion fees are indicative of both the demand that exists for women’s soccer in the professional sports landscape and the validated growth trajectory of our league,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.
“We said at the start of the expansion process in July 2022 that we would be intentional in seeking out strong markets and ownership groups that not only had the structural integrity for our league to thrive but also demonstrated a genuine commitment to investing in and creating first-rate organizations on and off the pitch. I am confident that this ownership group and the market will help us deliver on the league’s continued transformative growth and success and look forward to watching the Bay Area club kick off in 2024.”
The ownership group
Majority investor Sixth Street is an investment firm with extensive representation in sports that includes investments with Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and the San Antonio Spurs. The firm has additional partnerships with New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys through its majority investment in Legends, a global sports and live venue experience business.
Alan Waxman is Co-Chair of the club and Co-Founder and CEO of Sixth Street in partnership with former U.S. women’s national team players Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, Aly Wagner, and two-time World Cup champion Brandi Chastain. Sheryl Sandberg, the founder of Lean In.Org, joins as a strategic investor and will serve on the club’s board, which will also include four-time NBA and two-time WNBA Champion executive Rick Welts.
Waxman will serve on the NWSL’s board of governors and Wagner will serve as the alternative governor. Waxman and Wagner will co-chair the club’s board. The board will also include Staci Slaughter, former executive vice president and senior advisor to the CEO of the three-time World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.
“We appreciate each and every one of the thousands of people who have supported us through this process and helped us reach this important day, and to Sixth Street for stepping up to take this club to the next level,” said Wagner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, NCAA National Champion, and the first woman broadcaster to call a FIFA Men’s World Cup match.
“As lifelong residents of the Bay Area, we know how important women’s soccer is to our region and we are going to work hard every day to ensure that this is a club that every player, supporter, and partner will be proud of. We can’t wait to get started.”
Former players lead charge for Bay Area team
The last time a woman’s domestic pro soccer league was in northern California was during the WUSA era that folded in 2003. The San Jose CyberRays were WUSA champions when they defeated the Atlanta Beat in 2001 and won the Founders Cup during the league’s inaugural season.
The initiative to bring NWSL to back the Bay began three years ago with the four friends and former USWNT players. All four players have deep ties to the area as Santa Clara alums, and Chastain, Wagner, and Slaton are a trio of San Jose natives.
“The Bay Area is where this all began,” said Chastain, two-time FIFA World Cup champion, and two-time Olympic gold medalist. “We are as excited about what this club will achieve on the field of play as we are for what it will represent for generations of women athletes and professionals yet to come. We look forward to the Bay fans embracing our team and celebrating the competitive spirit and talent we will put onto the field to continue the strong Bay tradition of playing to win championships.”
Slaton is an NCAA National Champion, Olympic silver medalist, 2003 USWNT World Cup defender, and Chair of the U.S. Soccer Yates Implementation Committee.
“This is something we’ve been working on for almost three years, and to reach this point and officially be accepted into the NWSL is both a dream come true and a motivator because now it’s time to start building,” said Slaton, “We are grateful, eager, and humbled by the chance to play an active role in shaping this league and leading our sport towards a brighter future of lasting growth and change.”
What’s next
The NWSL is officially returning to the Bay and the franchise will announce a club name, crest, and colors in the future. The club also announced a future project to build a state-of-the-art training venue at a “to-be-announced location.” The former CyberRays played at San Jose State University facility “Spartan Stadium,” now known as CEFCU Stadium, but no confirmed location has been named for the NWSL team at this time.
The 2023 NWSL regular season began on March 25 and will conclude with the 2023 NWSL Championship final on November 11. The expansion draft will take place in the offseason and details on rules and processes will be announced at a later date.