Bay FC

San Jose sits at the bottom of the bay, an hour south of San Francisco and surrounded by the money that built Silicon Valley. That proximity shaped the club that arrived there: four former United States internationals — among them Brandi Chastain — put the founding group together, and the investment firm Sixth Street came in behind them with $125 million, the largest sum ever committed to a professional women's sports team at that point.

The franchise itself had been awarded in December 2020. It took until 1 June 2023 for the name, the badge and the colours — white, navy and poppy — to be made public. There is no nickname and no mascot, a decision taken deliberately in favour of something plainer.

Bay FC play at PayPal Park on Coleman Avenue, an 18,000-seat ground and previously known by two other names. It filled up quickly. In the debut season of 2024 the average gate reached 13,617, more than any expansion team in NWSL history.

That first season also produced the transfer that made the rest of the league sit up. In February 2024 the club paid roughly $860,000 to Madrid CFF for the Zambia forward Racheal Kundananji — a world record for a women's player. On the pitch the team finished seventh, reached the play-offs and went out in the quarter-final to Washington Spirit. Alex Loera wore the armband through that year as the first captain the club had, before a trade took her to Utah Royals.

The fixture that carries most weight is against Angel City FC, framed by supporters as northern California against the south; San Diego Wave FC make it a three-way argument. Neither derby has a name.