This week a credible source from within the Bay Cities FC organization approached Protagonist Soccer with claims about nonpayment of players, front office staff, and a pending player strike. According to this source, “the team is two months behind on player checks,” leaving players without income in a city (Redwood City, California) that is three times more expensive to live in than most American cities. Our source also claims the club is behind on payments to front office staff as well, in some cases “in the 10s of thousands of dollars."

Bay Cities FC announced its application to NISA in April of 2021. In the NISA press release, the club highlighted that its mission was “to bridge communities, regardless of social or economic background, and create tangible opportunities for top youth soccer players in the Bay Area who have a desire to play soccer professionally.” Just this year, the club has sold on two players to other professional clubs. Most notably, goalkeeper Ian McGrane, who had played in five of the club’s early matches. McGrane was sold on to St. Louis City SC 2, an MLS Next Pro expansion club, set to begin league play in 2023. However, these sales seem nowhere near enough to offset the costs of running a professional side, if these claims are true.

Entering NISA this year, the club has shown much promise for an expansion side. Currently, the club is sitting in the final playoff spot in the West with a 4-3-5 record in league play. The club participated in the 2022 US Open Cup, winning its second-round matchup against USL-C club Monterrey Bay, 2-1. In the third round, Bay Cities lost to MLS club San Jose Earthquakes 5-0. The team most recently lost its matchup in the NISA Independent Cup against amateur side, Wenatchee All-Stars FC. Bay Cities FC also recently announced a friendly with the Guatemala U-20 team, scheduled for August 3. The club’s women’s team won their UPSL Conference title earlier this month. The club seems to be proving itself on the field.

However, according to our club source, the players are fed up with the lack of payment and are considering a player strike to attempt to force the club to find means to pay them. The players “have been sold a dream” and “Anders [Perez] is a good salesman.” However, those dreams seem to be fading into a less rosy financial reality. Lower league soccer clubs are notorious for losing money and Bay Cities may be dealing with the harsh truth of American sports. One solution to the cash shortage, the source claimed, is an apparent $100,000 loan offered by Bob Friedland, owner of NISA club LA Force, in exchange for club ownership.

The play of Anthony Orendain has been a bright spot for Bay Cities FC. Photo credit: Bay Cities’ Facebook

When Protagonist Soccer reached out to Anders Perez, Bay Cities’ President, he was affable, willing to discuss the situation, and openly responded to several of the accusations. While he did admit that the organization has been behind on player payments, he claimed that “we are not behind two months, just slightly delayed.” Perez stated that some investor funds were slow to arrive, but “players are aware of the situation” and he expected the issue to be taken care of in a few days. He also denied the claim that front office personnel were behind on payment. “The only front office employee behind on payment is me.” He emphasized that due to the size of his club, they have always had a “lean organization” to limit salary costs. Finally, he was adamant in his denial of the Friedland loan offer, claiming the rumor was “ridiculous, not true at all!”

Our source also claimed that NISA is aware of the situation. When approached, Steve Johnson, Communication Specialist for NISA, responded that “We ARE aware of some front office challenges for this brand new organization, and we are working with them” [his emphasis], but declined to comment on any of the specific questions we had sent in our communication.

With the recently announced season-shuttering of Valley United, NISA is reeling at the moment. It’s easy to see these rumors about Bay Cities as more of the same, but only time will tell if these are merely growing pains of a promising club or the harbingers of more serious problems.

- Dan Vaughn