(Reuters) – A 14th team will join the National Women’s Soccer League next year after the league said on Tuesday it had awarded expansion rights to an investment group representing the Bay Area in California.
Private equity group Sixth Street, which has investments with top Spanish sides Real Madrid and Barcelona, will be the new Bay Area club’s majority investor.
They have partnered with four former U.S. women’s national team players — Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Aly Wagner — who worked to bring an NWSL expansion team to the Bay Area.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with this legendary group, who are lifelong role models to a generation of women,” said Alan Waxman, co-chair of the club and CEO of Sixth Street.
“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.”
Waxman will also serve on the NWSL’s board of governors while he and Wagner will co-chair the club’s board.
The league currently has 12 teams but last month the Utah Royals said they would return in 2024 after the club had ceased operations in 2020.
California currently has two teams in the league: Angel City FC based in Los Angeles and San Diego Wave FC.
The new NWSL season kicked off last month with defending champions Portland Thorns top of the league after two rounds.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
