Sunderland aim to compete with world's bestpublished at 14:37 BST 18 June
Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesBay Collective have completed their takeover of Sunderland AFC Women, acquiring a majority stake in the club.
The multi-club owners, who also oversee American club Bay FC, received formal approval from WSL Football this week.
Sunderland finished eighth in the Women's Super League 2 but Bay Collective chief Kay Cossington hopes they can compete with "the very best in the world" in the future.
"I don't see why not. The club has been there previously. This is not something new," said Cossington, who was formerly the FA's technical director of women's football.
"When I was an international coach, there were many players from the area whether it was Lucy Bronze, Jill Scott, Steph Houghton, Lucy Stanforth, Demi Stokes - the list is endless.
"This club was right at the top of the women's game and was competing for honours on a regular basis. It's time to bring back those days."
Local rivals Newcastle United have been boosted by investment from the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia in recent years.
But Durham put out a call for investment last week as their future in the WSL 2 is at risk without it.
Cossington says Bay Collective "understands what an important region" the northeast is to women's football and hopes to rebuild its success in the game.
Sunderland CEO Tom Burwell believes the club's ambitions were met by Bay Collective when they first held conversations in October 2025.
"That was the clear mandate set to me by the board - to find a partner that first and foremost cared about developing football here in this region, knowing that if we built those key fundamentals, we had the opportunity to compete at the very highest level," said Burwell.
