Club’s first season ends with multitude of records broken across sporting and business sides
San Francisco (November 13, 2024) – Bay FC, the professional soccer franchise representing the Bay Area in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), saw its inaugural 2024 season come to a close on Sunday with its quarterfinal playoff defeat at the Washington Spirit 2-1 after extra time.
The club finishes the 2024 NWSL season with a record of 11 wins, 14 losses, and one draw in regular season play, securing seventh place in the league standings with 34 points. Throughout the campaign, Bay FC set a new standard for expansion clubs playing in their first season, recording the most regular season (11) and road (6) wins of any expansion team in league history while becoming just the second first-year side to qualify for the postseason. Bay FC recorded 31 regular season goals – the second most by an expansion side – and conceded 41, while recording six shutouts.
“This has been a record-breaking season of firsts for our club both on and off the pitch,” said Bay FC CEO Brady Stewart. “Our football and business offices have worked side-by-side to build a world-class club which has touched every county across the Bay Area with the ultimate goal of becoming a global sports franchise. What the team has accomplished in our inaugural season in incredible and I’m extremely proud of our entire organization, players, and partners – building business and team rosters in less than a year, securing 14 like-minded corporate sponsors, attracting one of the largest global brands in FC Barcelona for an international friendly, and announcing our intent to build a state-of-the-art training facility on Treasure Island – with our sights set on an even higher bar for 2025.”
Following the club’s launch in 2023, preparations for the 2024 season began quickly as the club built its inaugural roster, which included NWSL veterans, international signings, and players with Bay Area ties. Notably, Racheal Kundananji joined Bay FC in a record-setting transfer agreement with Madrid CFF, Asisat Oshoala joined the club from Spanish side FC Barcelona, and Bay Area native and 2019 Women’s World Cup Champion Abby Dahlkemper joined the club via transfer in August from San Diego Wave FC. Seven players on the club’s roster during the season had previous Bay Area playing history from the youth, college, or professional levels.
The club’s debut campaign began with a victory in its first match – a 1-0 result over Angel City FC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on March 17. Two weeks later, a sellout crowd of 18,000 fans filled PayPal Park for Bay FC’s inaugural home contest against the Houston Dash. The season continued with strong performances in NWSL play and included matches against some of the world’s top clubs in friendlies and cup competition – an international friendly vs. Spanish side FC Barcelona in August and a 2-1 victory at home over Mexico’s Club América in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup. By the end of the regular season, Bay FC set a new league record for wins by a first-year club in its expansion season, with 11.
In addition, Bay FC excelled off the pitch, engaging local communities throughout the Bay Area, being one of the NWSL’s top clubs in business performance, and laying the groundwork for its future. Throughout the year, Bay FC hosted over 75 different community organizations at home matches providing access to the sport to 5,000 community members, hosted over a dozen community soccer clinics, and supported local non-profits or hosted events in each of the nine Bay Area counties, delivering on its mission to be a community-focused organization. The club ranked among the league’s top teams with an average regular season attendance of over 13,000 fans per game, the fourth best mark in the NWSL and led the league in merchandise sales according to the latest available NWSL data. The club also secured nearly 10,000 season ticket members for its inaugural campaign and implemented first of their kind partnerships with local businesses including Sutter Health, PNC, Trader Joe’s, Visa, and others, further involving the club in the local business community and providing unprecedented opportunities to maximize player care and compensation. Bay FC’s digital presence showed strong results in its first year, with 360,000 total followers and a 6.2% engagement rate across its social media platforms.
In September, the club announced its intentions to construct a state-of-the-art training ground on San Francisco’s Treasure Island – which would become one of few purpose-built training facilities for women’s sports in the United States and representing the next step in becoming a global franchise. Bay FC plans to break ground on the facility in 2025, with a target opening date of 2027 pending approval from the Treasure Island Development Authority and the City of San Francisco.
Season tickets for Bay FC’s 2025 season at PayPal Park in San Jose are now available for purchase at BayFC.com. Fans can also follow @wearebayfc on social channels for more exciting announcements to come.
About Bay Football Club
Bay Football Club (Bay FC) is the professional soccer franchise representing the Bay Area and the 14th team to join the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Bay FC was established in April 2023 and co-founded by USWNT legends Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner in partnership with global investment firm Sixth Street and an investor group of leading tech, business and sports executives. Sixth Street’s investment is the largest institutional investment to date in a women’s professional sports franchise. Bay FC is changing the face of women’s soccer as we know it. Beginning play in the 2024 season, we are building a squad that will play the beautiful game with power, passion, energy, and creativity. Tickets are now on sale for Bay FC at https://bayfc.com and fans can follow Bay FC’s social channels (@wearebayfc) for the latest news, merchandise, and events.
