The National Women’s Soccer League has announced the awarding of expansion rights for the 14th team of the 2024 regular season to an investment group, the Sixth Street, based in The Bay Area of Northern California. The new-kid-on-the-block will commence play in 2024. The announcement follows recent expansion announcement of the Utah Royals as team #13, again beginning play in 2024.
What they said:
“The number of bids and the increase in the league’s expansion fees are indicative of both the demand that exists for women’s soccer in the professional sports landscape and the validated growth trajectory of our league,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.
“We said at the start of the expansion process in July 2022 that we would be intentional in seeking out strong markets and ownership groups that not only had the structural integrity for our league to thrive, but also demonstrated a genuine commitment to investing in and creating first-rate organizations on and off the pitch. I am confident that this ownership group and market will help us deliver on the league’s continued transformative growth and success and look forward to watching the Bay Area club kick off in 2024,” NWSL Commissioner Berman continued.
Co-Chair of the Club and Co-Founder and CEO of Sixth Street Alan Waxman said ,“We want to thank Commissioner Berman and the NWSL Board for their endorsement and their partnership throughout this process.”
“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with this legendary group, who are lifelong role models to a generation of women, and we look forward to working with them to build a championship franchise on and off the field. We believe that many years from now we will look back at today as a landmark moment in Bay Area sports history, and a turning point for large-scale investment in women’s sports,” said Wexman.
“We appreciate each and every one of the thousands of people who have supported us through this process and helped us reach this important day, and to Sixth Street for stepping up to take this club to the next level,” said Aly Wagner, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Club, Santa Clara ’02, two-time Olympic gold medalist, NCAA National Champion, and the first woman broadcaster to call a FIFA Men’s World Cup match.
“As lifelong residents of the Bay Area, we know how important women’s soccer is to our region and we are going to work hard every day to ensure that this is a club that every player, supporter, and partner will be proud of. We can’t wait to get started.”
The Sixth Street is a global investment firm that also holds stakes in Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and the San Antonio Spurs.
