Ballard FC announces launch of USL W League team
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – With the success that USL League Two side Ballard FC has seen, the club has only built further and further upon the positive decisions that they’ve made, and their next announcement is another example of that in multiple ways. On Tuesday, July 9th, the club announced that there will be a Ballard USL W League team, beginning play in May of 2025, that will have its own name and branding independent of Ballard FC. To back this new side, the owners of Ballard FC wanted to ensure there were prominent figures in Women’s sports present and that will be the case as the two remaining Seattle Reign OG’s (Lu Barnes and Jess Fishlock) are present, Ginny Gilder who is a co-owner of your Seattle Storm, and a few others are part of the investment group behind this new semi-professional team that will play it’s home matches at Interbay stadium. Ballard FC has continually impressed with their ability to reach their community, build their fanbase, and put out a winning product in just their third season, and now the addition of a women’s side amidst a “movement” in Women’s sports in a city that knows how to support it’s teams adds to the quality decisions that they’ve made as a franchise.
What the team will be
This team will be playing in the USL W League, which is the women’s equivalent of USL League Two which Ballard FC currently plays in. The USL W League describes itself as “the nation’s premier semi-professional league developing the next generation of women’s soccer talent both on and off the field” and a goal the league has is “to use women’s soccer as a force for societal good by creating a national platform to increase opportunity, gender equity, and career development.” It’s not the USL Super League, which is a few ranks up in terms of the professional system, but it is an opportunity for those in the area to have a semi-professional space to grow their game and get the professional experience before potentially signing somewhere or being drafted. Just like how we’ve seen players of multiple backgrounds come to play for Ballard FC, top collegiate players, ex-professionals, and rising youth talent will be able to try out for the club and be part of this team. Given how we’ve seen players from the University of Washington, Seattle U, and Seattle Pacific University to name just a few local universities, it will be interesting to see which schools have players take part in the inaugural season of this USL W League side that will play in the leagues Northwest division, joining sides from Tacoma, Olympia, Salem, Portland, and Eugene.
“Introducing a USL W League team to Ballard is a monumental step in advancing our organization and soccer community. Ballard is a special place with an immense sense of pride, passionate spirit, and love for soccer. We can’t wait to see the community embrace this new team!”
The vision for this team has been in the works
A fan event was held about a year ago for Ballard FC supporters to celebrate a successful season, as the club had won the USL League Two title in just their second season as a franchise, and during that fan event several key details were revealed about the upcoming season. Ballard FC Co-Owners Sam Zisette and Chris Kaimmer were present at the event to answer questions that the fans in attendance had, from what we’d see with the club heading to Memorial temporarily for the season, questions about the artist kit, returning players, but there was confirmation that a women’s side was coming at some point in 2025, but that information was never discussed again after that day and largely kept under the radar. When discussing today’s announcement with Zisette, he shared that it was never a question of IF they wanted to have a USL W League side to go with their USL League two side, it was rather a matter of when it was right to unveil that news. Conversations were had internally and with the potential investors all throughout the past few years as the right moves were being put in place for this side to become a reality, so it wasn’t a situation where the men’s side did well, so they wanted to add a women’s side too. The plans have been in place, the only difference is now we can see them on full display.
“It’s kind of hard to answer because, it was really never a question of if we would launch a USL W league team, and it was more of when and how. The how was something we’ve been really focused on for well over a year. The first is, well we’re three male co-founders. We are not the people exclusively who should be launching a women’s team. We need to add women to our ownership group, more women to our ownership group that have that lived experience and perspective to help with the big picture decision making, that kind of higher strategy level around everything from how we treat and what we do with players, to community, fans and staff, at the high level.”
The importance of having women in important positions within the club was addressed somewhat quickly, as Zisette noted that he’s largely been the only full-team employee for the club until semi-recently, and with the women’s side being announced he knew that there needed to be another key figure to help run the day-to-day of what this USL W League side will do and look like. Zisette discussed how some of the day-to-day and “little things” that a club can do are what impact players the most, in addition to the staff and fans, and so another key name was brought in: Tiffany Mallick. Mallick has all sorts of experience in women’s sports and sports in general, dating back to when she played collegiate soccer at California State University San Bernardino as a goalkeeper. Other stops for Mallick include Athletic Trainer for the Seattle Sounders Women, Head Athletic Trainer at Bellevue College from 2016 to 2017, Seattle University Athletic Training Staff in August 2017, and even playing Touch Rugby competitively for 5 years, being selected to represent the USA W27s (women’s team) at the Touch Rugby World Cup
“We are committed to creating an environment where women athletes
can thrive, and we’re thrilled to work with partners who share our dedication to improving equity through sports.”
Tiffany Mallick, Ballard FC Vice President and Athletic Trainer, at Interbay Stadium. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)
The ownership group is loaded with powerful women
In several conversations that Circling Seattle Sports has had with the Ballard FC ownership group, it’s always been apparent that the club wanted to have women at the top of their Women’s side whenever they were ready to fully make that announcement, and that’s the case as you’ve seen with the investor group list. Sam Zisette, co-owner of Ballard and the man you can find doing so much across a typical matchday, has made it clear to Circling Seattle Sports that they wanted to ensure that Women were at the helm and those conversations were had early and often. It only makes sense to have Lu Barnes and Jess Fishlock involved in this club, considering that they’ve been such pioneers for women’s soccer in the Seattle area dating back to when they were part of the inaugural Reign roster and how they’ve been with the club since then. Having other players who have soccer history in the area, such as Olivia Van Der Jagt who went to the University of Washington, is a native of Kent, and still plays with the Reign plus Sam Hiatt, a Kirkland native that went to Seattle Prep and spent the first part of her NWSL career with the Reign before a trade to Gotham this offseason, is significant considering that those two have seen the soccer landscape in this area grow since they themselves played in it to begin their careers. Jen Barnes’ involvement is no surprise either, given that Rough & Tumble Pub (the official home of Circling Seattle Sports!) is a sports bar that prioritizes women’s sports on its screen, and given that there has been a growing connection with the pub and Ballard FC already.
Ballard FC Co-Owner Sam Zisette speaks with Seattle Reign FC OG, Defender, and captain Lu Barnes during a “Common Goal” event at Rough & Tumble Pub in 2023. (Photo by Liz Wolter)
While it makes a lot of sense to see Seattle’s professional basketball team (currently, for any NBA fans getting upset. I imagine the Sonics will return within the next few months.) involved, it’s interesting to hear about the Storm’s vision for the future that’s part of their investment in Ballard’s women’s side in the USL W League. Gilder and the Storm ownership group are not only passionate about Women’s sports and the growth there, but also there’s an idea that with Ballard FC and their women’s side returning to Interbay next season, plus the fact that the Storm Center for Basketball Performance is already in Interbay, that the area could become its own mini-sports hub of sorts. Not only is there the reality of young professional women’s soccer players having their matches played just down the street from where the cities professional basketball players are training, but Gilder is also part of Pickle at the Palms LLC, a group that is looking to have a Pickleball complex built in the Interbay area soon. Building even further off that, and perhaps a plan that’s going to take some more time, the plans to have the Link Light Rail come through Ballard only increase the opportunity to have people visit the area, take in Ballard’s USL W League Team, play Pickleball, and maybe take tours of the Storm facility. Given that information, you can see why the Storm ownership group has plans and hopes that Interbay can be another area in Seattle that’s a sports hub, like the SoDo region that houses Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park. While that isn’t the primary reason that Gilder and Storm ownership wants to put their stake into this USL W League club for Ballard, it makes sense for them to see it as an additional plus.
“I think they see this big picture future of what Interbay can be for Seattle sports, almost as like a little mini Pioneer Square kind of thing, right? In the way you have lumen and T-Mobile park right next to each other, you’ve got all this stuff going on. What about a little mini version of that in interbay, with Interbay Stadium and the practice facility and the pickleball facility and the light rail.”
“Notable” investor names include
Lu Barnes: Seattle Reign FC OG, defender, and captain
Jess Fishlock: Seattle Reign FC OG, and midfielder
Olivia Van Der Jagt: Seattle Reign FC midfielder, University of Washington alum
Sam Hiatt: former Seattle Reign FC player and current NJ/NY Gotham FC defender
Ginny Gilder: Seattle Storm Co-Owner
Jen Barnes: owner of Rough & Tumble
Kelyn Rowe: retired soccer player and former Seattle Sounder
Michelle Ludtka Furbush: Emmy Award Winning Sportscaster, Seattle Sounders FC Broadcast Team, WISE Seattle Board Member.
Charlie Furbush: former Seattle Mariners pitcher
25 new women owners were added to the clubs ownership group, per the official press release. These women include professional soccer players, local business owners, and leaders within the local soccer community.
The complete Ballard FC/USL W League side ownership group. (Photo by Blake Dahlin)
Some Ballard FC “traditions” will be shared across both sides
For many in the sports world, being a fan of a team isn’t always necessarily about the results, certain players, or the statistics that come with the game itself. For some it’s about the enjoyment, community, and passion that are part of rooting for a team, and that’s a part of how Ballard FC has created such a strong and passionate fan base in just their third year as a club. With that, the club has created some fun traditions such as their annual artist collaboration kits, and a few things that the men’s side already do will also be shared with their USL W League side when they’re ready to hit the pitch. Zisette confirmed that the artist collaboration series will be a shared tradition across both sides, and that next year's artist has already been tabbed and that is in the works. More of that sort of thing, the new and different things that the women’s side will do as opposed to the men’s side, will be revealed closer to when we get the branding and name unveiling in the fall, but there will be some fun mixture of traditions between both sides when they’re actively up and running.
“Ballard FC’s leadership group has been very intentional about building a women’s team and we’re delighted to see them expand. We know that they will continue to inspire and excel, and provide a platform for women to pursue their professional dreams.”
What’s next?
In the fall, the USL W League side for Ballard will have their name, branding, and marks revealed ahead of their set kickoff date of May 2025. Currently, the crest and marks are being worked on by someone who has some great experience previously with logos and new designs. Matthew Wolff, who designed the Nigeria World Cup kits in 2018, the San Diego Wave crest, the Vermont Green crest (A club he is a partial owner of), and several other notable crests across futbol all over the world, is designing the marks and branding for Ballard’s USL W League side and it will be a thrill to see them when they’re officially unveiled this fall. For Ballard FC and their men’s side, they have two matches left in their 2024 regular season as they look to lock up seeding for the playoffs, and their next home match is on top this Friday, July 12th against United PDX at Memorial Stadium with a kickoff time of 7PM PDT. Following that regular season home finale, Ballard has another match later this weekend as they head to West Seattle for the regular season finale against Junction FC on Sunday, July 14th with a kickoff time of 1PM PDT. You can watch all Ballard FC home matches on their YouTube by clicking here.
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Cover photo provided by Ballard FC.
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