Bay Cities

Formation and expansion bid

The San Francisco Bay Area had previously hosted two professional women's soccer teams: the San Jose CyberRays of the Women's United Soccer Association and FC Gold Pride of Women's Professional Soccer.

In 2022, former United States women's national team (USWNT) and professional club players Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner announced the founding of a group called "NWSL to the Bay" that would lobby the NWSL for an expansion team in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their efforts to bring NWSL to the Bay started in 2020 just after Angel City in Los Angeles was founded by Kara Nortman, Natalie Portman, and Julie Uhrman. The groups bid would compete from groups in other cities, including Columbus, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio; Toronto, Ontario; St. Louis, Missouri; and Nashville, Tennessee. In late 2022 that the NWSL had narrowed the second of its two 2024 expansion selections to the Bay Area bid, another bid in the former Boston Breakers market of Boston, Massachusetts, and a third bid in Tampa, Florida. By January 2023, further reports suggested that Tampa had been eliminated and that the Bay Area and Boston would both be awarded expansion teams, with expansion fees estimated at $50 million each. The league declined to confirm any reports prior to an official announcement. On April 4, 2023, the league formally awarded one of its two planned 2024 expansion teams to the Bay Area group at a reported $53 million expansion fee. Sixth Street committed an additional $72 million toward the club's launch, bringing its planned initial investment to approximately $125 million.

On September 27, 2023, Albertin Montoya was announced as the team's first head coach. On November 15, defender Alex Loera was revealed as the club's first ever signing, joining from the Kansas City Current for $175,000 in allocation money and protection from Bay FC in the 2024 Expansion Draft. Six days later, the club welcomed the 2021 Defender of the Year Caprice Dydasco as their second signing, the right back joining from the Houston Dash. On December 13, 2023, the club announced their full coaching staff, with Angela Salem and Jason Goodson brought in as assistant coaches, and Diego Restrepo as head of goalkeeping. Head coach Montoya had worked with Salem during his interim head coaching stint with the Washington Spirit in the 2022 NWSL season, and Restrepo had been head of goalkeeping at D.C. United while Bay FC general manager Lucy Rushton served as GM of the club.

On February 13, 2024, Bay FC signed Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF for $860,000, setting a new record for most expensive transfer in women's soccer history. The deal lasts until 2027, with an option to extend for another year.

On December 4, 2025, the club announced former England women's under-23 team manager Emma Coates as the new head coach. She replaced Albertin Montoya who announced in September he would resign at the end of the season. Bay had finished second from bottom in the 2025 season.