Bay Area to host 2025 NWSL championship in November
The Bay Area has scored yet another major sporting event.
Driving the news: San José's PayPal Park, home of Bay FC, will host the 2025 National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) championship in November.
The final game of the season, slated for Nov. 22, will mark the fifth time the championship has been held on the West Coast in the league's 13-year history.
What they're saying:"We're thrilled to bring the NWSL Championship ... to a region with as rich a history in women's soccer as the Bay Area," NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said in a written statement.
What's next: Tickets for the championship will go on sale in August.
The game will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Additional programming will include the return of Fan Fest and the 2025 NWSL Skills Challenge.
The playoffs are slated to kick off Nov. 7.
Zoom in: The NWSL championship comes to the Bay Area just over a year after Bay FC made its debut, becoming the first active professional women's sports team in the region in more than a decade.
The team made the playoffs in its first season — the second expansion team in NWSL history to do so — but fell 2-1 to the Washington Spirit in the quarterfinals.
Now in its second season, Bay FC sits at No. 9 out of the NWSL's 15 teams with four wins, five losses and three draws so far.
Yes, but: The club is under investigation for allegedly harboring a "toxic" work environment.
The big picture: The Bay Area has a rich legacy in the world of women's soccer.
Many of the national team's successes on the global stage have been due to the roster of players born and raised here.
That includes stars like Julie Foudy, Alex Morgan and Kelley O'Hara, as well as Bay FC co-founders Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Aly Wagner.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
13 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay FC lose 2-1 as Gotham's Gonzalez scores her NWSL-best 10th goal of the season
Esther Gonzalez scored her 10th goal of the season and Gotham FC came from behind Saturday to defeat visiting Bay FC 2-1. The Spaniard is the top scorer in the NWSL and has already surpassed her total of nine goals from the 2024 season. Gotham (5-5-3) won its second home match of the season. It was a second straight loss for Bay FC (4-6-3), who have lost all three meetings with Gotham since joining the NWSL last year. Penelope Hocking put Bay FC up 1-0 in the 11th minute. Hocking latched onto a looping pass from Hannah Bebar and poked the ball past Ann-Katrin Berger in the Gotham goal. Gonzalez got Gotham's equalizer in the 29th minute when she pounced on a loose pass in the box by Alyssa Malonson. Geyse netted the winning goal for Gotham in the 55th. Nealy Martin found the Brazilian with a bending 40-yard long pass out of the defense. The NWSL schedule will pause until August, with Bay FC facing Houston on Aug. 2. However, Bay FC will host two friendlies at PayPal Park before then, taking on NWSL team Angel City on July 19 and the Urawa Red Diamonds of the Japanese J League on July 27.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Portland's WNBA expansion team reportedly fires president less than 3 months after hiring her
The incoming WNBA team in Portland is still nearly a year away from playing its first games, but its leadership might already be getting a little messy. Team president Inky Son, the franchise's first employee who was hired on April 1, has been fired according to The Oregonian's Bill Oram. A reason why was not given, though The Oregonian reports significant 'growing pains' amid a 'rocky' rollout for the WNBA's planned 15th team. Advertisement A South Korea native and graduate from Georgetown's business school, Son joined the still-unnamed Portland team after a stint as the chief administrative officer of the National Basketball Players Association. She also has experience with the MLB Players Association. As president, she was to oversee all aspects of the business, including hiring the team's head of basketball operations. The team's ownership group, which also owns the NWSL's Portland Thorns, sang her praises while announcing her hire less than three months ago: 'We are thrilled to welcome Inky to our team,' said Lisa Bhathal Merage, Owner and Governor of the expansion Portland WNBA franchise. 'Inky's proven track record of transforming organizations, her strategic mindset, and her passion for our mission make her the ideal person to build a solid foundation for our franchise and reaffirm Portland as the global epicenter of women's sports. Apparently no longer the ideal person for the job, Son's ouster comes at an awkward time for the Portland team, which is set to play its inaugural season in 2026 alongside another expansion team, the Toronto Tempo. Unlike Portland, the Tempo have already revealed their name, logo and general manager. Portland did have a potential name leak out earlier this week: the Portland Fire, a name that reflects both the city's previous WNBA team, in operation from 2000 to 2002, and the recurring phenomena that burnt 1.9 million acres in Oregon last year, damaged nearly 200 homes and racked up more than $350 million in firefighting bills. Advertisement The team filed trademarks for the Portland Fire earlier this month and has hinted it will reveal its brand identity on July 15. On the bright side, the team reported over 10,000 season ticket deposits had been made as of Thursday afternoon. Hopefully, they have some more good news to report soon.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
WNBA expansion team in Portland fires president Inky Son: Reports
The WNBA expansion franchise in Portland doesn't even begin playing until 2026. It has already fired its top employee. Team president Inky Son, who was hired by the new franchise April 1, is out less than three months later, according to multiple reports. The Oregonian was the first to report the news. Advertisement RAJ Sports, which owns the fledgling franchise, as well as the Portland Thorns FC of the NWSL and other sports entities, declined to comment to The Oregonian. The WNBA awarded Portland its expansion team in September, and the team is expected to debut next season along with a new team in Toronto. But though Toronto has already hired a general manager (Monica Wright Rogers) and assistant general manager (Eli Horowitz), among others, not to mention revealed its name (Tempo), Portland has not built out its basketball operations staff. Last week, the WNBA filed trademarks for the name 'Portland Fire' and a stylized 'P' logo. The franchise is expected to reveal its name next month. Son, who was formerly the chief administrative officer of the National Basketball Players Association, was hired earlier this spring, about the same time the team broke ground on a practice facility that it will share with the Thorns. At the time, RAJ Sports managing director Mike Whitehead said Son would 'lay the groundwork for our future growth.' Advertisement This article originally appeared in The Athletic. WNBA, women's sports 2025 The Athletic Media Company
