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Sixth Street, the private equity firm that serves as lead investor of national-womens-soccer-league/”>national Women’s soccer League club Bay FC, announced on Friday that it is launching a multi-club organization called Bay Collective. Kay Cossington, MBE, will join Sixth Street as head of global women’s football and serve as CEO of Bay Collective.
Sixth Street did not name any acquired or targeted clubs as part of the announcement.
Cossington joins from her role as women’s technical director of England’s Football Association, a role she will remain in until May 31 as part of the transition.
“For decades, I have studied women’s football at every age and rank, across regions, leagues, and styles,” Cossington said in a statement. “My conclusion is clear: there is a better way to develop players on and off the pitch, build championship clubs, and keep our athletes at the center of everything we do. We only need the resources and the will to do it.”
The multi-club model was made famous on the men’s side by Red Bull and the City Football Group, but only recently has it become a model on the women’s side.
Michele Kang, who owns the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, prominently launched her vision for multi-club ownership last season when she acquired French powerhouse and eight-time european champions Lyon, as well as global-empire/”>English second-division side London City Lionesses.
Like Kang and umbrella company Kynisca Sports international, Bay Collective plans to treat women’s soccer athletes as women first, with a “holistic” approach focused on everything from performance and medical to training and playing infrastructure.
Cossington has focused on those areas in her role with the FA over the past decade.
“As we continue our investment in women’s football’s global growth, we are thrilled to support Kay in this new and exciting entrepreneurial phase of her career,” Alan Waxman, CEO of Sixth Street and co-chair of Bay FC said in a statement. “Through her groundbreaking efforts at the FA, she has been responsible for many aspects of the growth and improvement of the global women’s game, and we feel very lucky to have her on our team.
“Built on our shared values and commitment to a one-team culture, the combination of Kay’s leadership and Sixth Street’s deep experience and resources will challenge conventional wisdom and use the power of women’s football to inspire and improve the experience of athletes, fans, and sporting communities around the globe.”
Bay FC will be the first club to be part of the Bay Collective.
Sixth Street is a global investment firm that says it manages around $100 billion in assets. It has previously made strategic investments in major global sports clubs and franchises including FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain, NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, MLB’s New York Yankees and NFL’s Dallas Cowboys as it was one of the private capital firms recently approved to invest with NFL teams.
Sixth Street led investment in Bay FC, which agreed to pay the NWSL a $53 million expansion fee ahead of launching in 2024. Bay FC is also building a training center on Treasure Island in San Francisco, which is due to open in 2027.
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