The Rise of BayFC

On April 4, 2023, Bay FC became the first National Women’s Soccer League team (NWSL) to be founded in the Bay Area. Bay FC was created by several U.S. national team superstars, including Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, Danielle Slaton, and Leslie Osborn, with the mission of defying convention and transcending culture. They also want to create a unified team that can stand as a beacon of hope and connection for women in the city, while also being competitive and winning games. Recently, Bay FC signed several new players, many of whom are from different countries. Princess Marfo (Ghana), Deyna Castellanos (Venezuela), Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria), Jen Beattie (Scotland), and Racheal Kundananji (Zambia), are all recent signees who are international players, now coming to play in the Bay Area. Kundananji’s transfer fee was $787,600, with an option of $75,000 extra. This amount stands as the largest transfer fee in the history of women’s professional soccer. Bay FC paid $162,000 for Oshoala to transfer from Barcelona and $225,000 for Castellanos’ transfer from Manchester City. General Manager Lucy Rushton states, “If you look at NWSL clubs, 90% of them are built around American players. That’s just not what I’m used to in this game. I’m used to it being more global. Our strategy going in was really to try to build a roster that was full of the next generation of U.S. women national-team players and then build that out with top international players.” With the help of talented U.S. players along with the flair and different style of play from international players, Bay FC is expected to be a real contender for their league, with hopes of finishing mid-table or higher. As Bay FC’s inaugural season is starting soon on March 17th against Angel City, lots of anticipation is building up. We will finally see if this brand new squad can compete against powerful teams like San Diego Wave and Portland Thorns, who placed first and second in last year’s NWSL league, and who include top tier players like Alex Morgan and Sophia Smith. Bay FC concludes with their tagline, emphasizing their confidence: “This team is born out of the Bay, it’s time to do it our way.”