The ownership group behind Redwood City’s newest professional soccer club, Bay Cities FC, is not in it for the money. The group, which includes Juventus Academy General Manager Anders Perez, Ivan Martinez and K.C. Watson, launched the club to provide opportunity for the many high-level soccer players in the area, both the men and the women. All three founders are heavily involved in the Northern California youth soccer scene and their vision for the club came out of recognizing the bounty of quality soccer players, both men and women, who grow up and compete in the area. As part of that vision, the club is committed to paying its teams equally, which is not always the case in the soccer world.
“Our vision for the club is to create opportunities for the community around us. ” said Perez. “It’s not about winning titles or making money. It’s the positive impact that soccer can have in the community we work with every day. And a big part of that is we want to make sure that our players and our fans know we value the women as much as we do the men. Bay Cities FC is committed to equal pay and equal resources. It’s part of our vision for how our club will grow.”
Perez, Martinez and Watson founded Bay Cities FC in 2021. The plan is for its men’s team to join the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), a third-tier men’s professional league for the 2022 season. NISA doesn’t field a women's league, so Bay Cities hopes to begin play this season either in a pre-professional league as part of one of two new women’s professional leagues slated to launch this year.
While the youth club soccer landscape in the United States consists of a huge number of clubs fielding both men’s and women’s teams, that hasn’t been the case at the professional level where the majority of MLS and USL teams field only men’s teams. The only domestic women’s pro league, The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) includes 12 teams, four of which (The Houston Dash (Houston Dynamo), Orlando Pride (Orlando City), Portland Thorns (Portland Timbers) and Utah Royals FC (Real Salt Lake) are affiliated with MLS clubs. Angel City FC (LAFC) begins play this season.
Yet, the popularity of women’s soccer is on the rise. Soccer powerhouse countries including Spain, Italy, Germany and China all have women’s leagues complementing their men’s competition. In many cases, pro clubs field multiple men's and women’s teams with crowds for the women’s matches sometimes rivaling those of the men. A recent Women's Champions League quarterfinal between Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona sold 80,000 tickets in three days. Perez feels the United States, despite the success of it’s women’s national team, risks falling behind in terms of player development.
“If we don’t create the infrastructure for the women’s game, we’re going to fall behind,” Perez explains. “The development model and the infrastructure in Europe is 100 years ahead of ours.”
Bay Cities FC, which is based in Redwood City, has begun to fill its rosters, identifying players, both through networking with local coaches, and through open tryouts. The initial men’s tryout was held in November and attracted players from the Bay Area and from all over the world. The women got their chance in January with more than 20 participants.
“For us, equal pay is a no-brainer and common sense,” said Bay Cities FC Sporting Director Eric Bucchere, who also runs Bay Area sports talent agency Path2Pro. “We’re honored to be a part of the journey for our women’s players and want to show them the respect that they deserve. The level of soccer in the bay area is truly phenomenal and one of the best in the world. It’s going to be a competitive group and one that we hope represents the Bay Area and makes the region proud.”
