Three California Launches, Three Different Endings: A Lesson for NWSL Atlanta
The first of a two-part series on how NWSL's newest clubs have built their brands, starting with the three that share a state: Angel City, San Diego Wave, and Bay FC.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) has grown exponentially since its 2013 kickoff. Launched with just eight teams as the United States' third attempt at a professional women's soccer league, following the collapses of the WUSA in 2003 and the WPS in 2012, the NWSL faced immense skepticism regarding its long-term viability. However, the league has not only survived the structural pitfalls of its predecessors but has also shattered expectations, shifting from cautious stabilization to an era of aggressive, high-value expansion. In the 13 seasons the league has been operational, it has extended to include an additional eight teams, with two more, Atlanta and Columbus, set to debut in 2028. We've seen the full spectrum of PR successes and snafus in equal measure because of the league's rapid growth. Before NWSL Atlanta's 2028 debut, there are plenty of lessons to learn from the ways expansion teams that came before have chosen to market and connect with their communities.
This is the first of two articles I will publish here at SDH, detailing how recent expansion teams have chosen to market themselves in the run-up to the NWSL Atlanta brand launch on October 4. I chose to cover only the most recent teams to join the league, because otherwise we'd be here forever.
With that said, let's start with the three teams that share a state: Angel City, San Diego Wave, and Bay FC.
Angel City FC (founded 2020, inaugural season in 2022)
The highest-profile launch in the league's history: no other team could boast such a star-studded ownership group from the start. That group, which includes USWNT legends Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Abby Wambach, alongside comedian Will Ferrell and tennis great Serena Williams, generated buzz immediately. So did the then-league-record expansion fee of $2 million, which feels like chump change in retrospect. The club used the two years before they started play to hit the ground running in the marketing department. They complemented the celebrity angle by targeting specific segments of the community and pledging to give ten percent of sponsorship revenue back to local nonprofits. The pre-play hype was real, and the team did well in its first season, finishing eighth of 12 teams and just missing the NWSL playoffs, with their first berth coming in their sophomore season. While the team is still the highest-valued in the league, players and fans alike have recently expressed long-building frustration with the mediocrity of the on-field product (as of this writing, they rank ninth of sixteen teams) and the churn of the technical staff, four coaches since the club's launch, including this June, when Alex Straus was fired and assistant Leif Gunnar Smerud was elevated to interim charge. Additionally, the arrival in 2024 of new majority owners USC journalism dean Willow Bay and former Disney CEO Bob Iger has fans wondering whether the previously established inclusive culture and community outreach will remain a long-term priority.
San Diego Wave FC (founded 2021, inaugural season 2022)
San Diego Wave took a bold step at the outset by selecting a pair of nontraditional, vibrant colors to represent the club. The distinctive tones of hot coral pink and ocean blue served dual purposes: they set the club apart in a crowded market while also capturing the laid-back sun-and-surf vibe of Southern California. The announcement felt like a homecoming for USWNT superstar Alex Morgan, a native of Diamond Bar, CA. She was a focal point of early marketing and sponsorship, helping drive ticket sales and online interest from the start. The club further defined its online presence by embracing the local community's bilingualism with #TogetherSomosGreater, a Spanglish campaign that reflected San Diego's lived reality. In addition, players share details of practice, team dynamics, and post-game celebrations across digital platforms, allowing fans to feel connected to their idols. Since retiring in 2024, Morgan has become a minority owner. The club has had its share of ups and downs; a major overhaul followed Morgan's retirement, but the club's tactical shift and investment in young talent have paid off handsomely, as the club currently sits in 4th place in the lead-up to the NWSL playoffs. They have signed Juventus forward Barbara Bonansea to a year-long loan deal, and her experience should prove invaluable in their playoff run.
Bay FC (founded 2023, inaugural season 2024)
The most recent team to launch in California was founded by four USWNT legends from the Bay Area, in conjunction with the investment firm Sixth Street. Bay FC made a point of inviting the entire Bay Area to become supporters through its first marketing campaign, "B Legendary." The spot was filmed with local youth soccer players in action because, as marketing VP Emily Raimondi put it in an interview with Marketing Brew, "We wanted to show diving for a ball, true scrimmages, blood, sweat, mud. That was all real, because that's part of the game." The spot also went out across the area: the PR team used 600 billboards, both static and digital, to widen the net of prospective fans. They built on this momentum in the following season by spotlighting high-profile international signings Asisat Oshoala and Racheal Kundananji and showcasing the true depth of their player roster. Like Angel City, Bay FC's early success and record-setting crowds last year have been offset by disappointing results recently, despite competitive games and an ongoing rebuild under current head coach Emma Coates. In August, they acquired U.S. national Jenna Nighswonger from Arsenal in the WSL. They currently sit 15th in the league.
NWSL Atlanta pulls back the curtain on its own brand on October 4, at a launch party over a year before the club plays a competitive match. Angel City, San Diego Wave, and Bay FC all did their own version of that: a celebrity-driven ownership reveal, a color palette built around a hometown story, a billboard campaign timed to a first season. None of those launches guaranteed what came after. San Diego is playoff-bound. Angel City is scrapping for one of the league's final playoff spots, its fourth head coach now in charge on an interim basis. Bay FC is out of postseason contention entirely. Atlanta's October 4 unveiling will be judged the same way its predecessors eventually were, not by the party, but by what's still standing once the games start.
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