San Jose – Despite opening the second half of the NWSL regular season on the road, the club will return home on August 27 for a friendly match against one of the top women’s teams in the world.
The club announced on Friday that they will host FC Barcelona on August 27 at PayPal Park.
“Bay FC is building a global sports franchise grounded in the Bay Area. Both Bay FC and FC Barcelona are committed to growing women’s soccer here and abroad,” said Bay FC CEO Brady Stewart in a club statement.
The match will feature an unparalleled amount of talent with World Cup Champions and national team players across numerous countries so we encourage fans to purchase tickets early as we anticipate tickets will be flying off the site.”
The match is also a reunion of sorts for Bay FC attacker Asisat Oshoala, who played in 162 career matches for Barcelona, scoring 117 goals.
FC Barcelona Femeni will take on Bay FC as part of their preseason tour in the U.S. as they prepare for their upcoming season. They will also play Dallas Trinity in the Cotton Bowl in Texas on August 30.
This will be the third time for the women’s side who will travel to the U.S. for their preseason. The last time they were in the United States was in 2021, when they participated in the Women’s International Champions Cup in Portland, losing in the semifinals, 3-2, to Olympique Lyon before claiming third after defeating Houston Dash 3-2.
“I’m super excited,” rookie defender Savy King said. “Barcelona, it’s super crazy because you’ll never play against Barcelona being here, so it’s awesome. It’s those types of games that you dream of, and it’s cool that it’s happening here in our home stadium.”
Barcelona is coming off another strong campaign last season winning their second straight UEFA Women’s Champions League title (their third in four years) and winning the Spanish club title (Liga F) title last year, their fifth in a row and ninth league title which is currently the most in Liga F history.
Photos by BayFC/Twitter