16-06-2025
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.
