Oakland Roots SC

Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American sports club based in Oakland, California who began play as a men's professional soccer team. The club was formed in 2018 by a group of Oakland natives and began play in the National Independent Soccer Association in the fall of 2019.

Oakland Roots
Full nameOakland Roots Sports Club
Founded2018
GroundLaney College
Capacity5,500
ChairmanSteven Aldrich
Head coachJordan Ferrell
LeagueNational Independent Soccer Association
WebsiteClub website

History

The club was formed in July 2018 when it was announced the club would be known as Oakland Roots Sports Club.[1] The club originally was slated to play in the NPSL Founders Cup, but the club ultimately withdrew and instead joined the National Independent Soccer Association a division 3 sanctioned United States Soccer Federation Professional League.[2][3]

Oakland Roots began by signing 3 Oakland raised players in the Spring of 2019 in Devante Dubose, Julio Cervantes and Yohannes Harish.[4][5] This was followed by the signing of a few higher profile players as the club built out its inaugural rosters. Those players included former MLS and Liga MX player Benji Joya, former Honduran World Cup veteran Victor Bernardez and former 1st round MLS Draft Pick Jack McInerney.[6][7][8]

The Club announced its first ever head coach on May 9, 2019 when they signed Bay Area native, former MLS Player and Colorado Rapids Technical Director Paul Bravo.[9]

2019

The club opened up the inaugural 2019–20 NISA season as the league’s first ever game, at home in front of a sold out crowd of more than 4,500. Jack McInerney would score a first half perfect hat trick in a match that would eventually end up in a 3-3 draw.[10]

Oakland Roots played 8 games in their inaugural season 6 in NISA and 2 friendlies vs Mexican opposition, FC Juarez and Club Atlético Zacatepec. The club picked up their first ever win at home vs Ascenso MX Club, Atlético Zacatepec by a score of 2-0.[11]

Oakland Roots sold out all 4 home games of the 2019 fall season averaging 4,927 fans including a record 5,723 in their final home game of 2019 a 1-1 draw vs Los Angeles Force.[12]

On October 31, 2019 Oakland Roots and Paul Bravo mutually agreed to part ways.[13] On December 3, 2019 Oakland Roots announced Jordan Ferrell as the club's new Head Coach.[14]

2020

The Roots opened their second season at home once again in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,603. The match against Chattanooga FC would end in a 1-1 draw when Jack McInerney scored in the 93rd minute of the match after the Roots were forced to play down a man from a first-half Red Card.[15] The Roots followed this up by winning their first-ever NISA League match the following weekend vs Michigan Stars FC 2-1.[16]

On April 27, 2020, following a stoppage of play and subsequent extension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NISA announced the cancellation of the 2020 Spring season.[17][18]

Year-by-year
Season League Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA Pts. Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Top goalscorer Manager
Name League
2019–20 NISA Fall - West Coast[lower-alpha 1] 4th 6 0 3 3 10 13 3 Did not qualify Second Round Jack McInerney 8
Paul Bravo
Spring[lower-alpha 2] 1st 2 1 1 0 3 2 4 Cancelled
Jordan Ferrell
  1. The Fall 2019 NISA season had eight teams split into two separate conferences, East Coast and West Coast
  2. Spring season cancelled before completion

Stadium

Roots home matches are played at Laney College Football Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium located near Lake Merritt where East and West Oakland meet. For Roots games the pitch is widened using a modular turf system. The Stadium has room for 3,500 seated and up to 5,500+ with standing room.[19]

Average attendance
YearReg. Season
2019 Fall 4,927
2020 Spring 5,193
2020 Fall N/A

Club culture

The Oakland Roots have been featured in pop culture in their history. Oakland Roots merchandise has been featured in two G-Eazy Video’s “West Coast” and "Bang".[20][21] The Roots Origins shirt then appeared in Zion I "Flame Go" Video a few months later.[22] As well Oakland born and raised Basketball player Damian Lillard wore Oakland Roots merchandise before an NBA game in the 2019 playoffs.[23] Roots merchandise additionally was featured in FourFourTwo magazine in the April and August additions of 2019.[24] The Club was also treated to a performance by Oakland Hip Hop artist Mistah F.A.B before their final home game of 2019.[25] Oakland Roots were featured on Men in Blazers on November 25, 2019 when Roger Bennett wore the Roots Jersey on the show.[26] Then that night Kevon Looney of the Golden State Warriors wore a Roots t-shirt on the bench during a regular season NBA game.[27] Roots merchandise featured in Kehlani's video "All me" on February 13, 2020.[28] Underground rappers Murs and The Grouch performed prior to the team's March 7, 2020 match against Michigan Stars FC.[29]

The club works closely with the Oakland Community and points to this as the reason they exist.[30] The club's two mottos are “Oakland First, Always” and “Know Your Roots” [31]

Common Goal

Oakland Roots Sports Club joined the Common Goal (charity) movement on June 30, 2020, as the 1st club in the United States to do so. Led by some of the world's top players and coaches, Common Goal participants contribute a minimum of 1% of their salaries and ticket revenue to fight social inequality. Oakland Roots was founded with the purpose of using soccer to create positive social change, making this a natural step in the club's journey. Common Goal was co-founded by World Cup-winner Juan Mata with the goal of uniting the global soccer community to tackle the greatest social challenges of our time. Since then over 150 players and coaches have joined the movement, including Rapinoe, the 2019 World Player of the Year, fellow USWNT World Cup and Olympic winner Alex Morgan, Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp, Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry, Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels and Juventus’ Giorgio Chiellini, as well as European clubs FC Nordsjælland of Denmark and Unionistas de Salamanca of Spain. [32]

Roots Justice Fund

The Oakland Roots Justice Fund is a charitable fund created by Oakland Roots Sports Club to support racial and gender justice. The Fund will support new and existing initiatives by the Roots and community partners in service of the Purpose of Oakland Roots - to harness the magic of Oakland the beautiful game of soccer as a tool for social good. The Fund was established thanks to donations by the Roots investor group.[33]

Supporters

The Supporters Group is known as the “Roots Radicals” in reference to a song by 90’s East Bay Punk Rock band Rancid.[34]

Project 51O

Oakland Roots added a reserve team on December 9, 2019 to be called "Project 51O". The reserve team will compete in the National Premier Soccer League.[35]

Players and staff

Current roster
As of March 5, 2020[36]
No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Christian Herrera  Mexico
2 Defender Daniel Navarro  United States
5 Defender Nana Attakora  Canada
6 Forward Matthew Fondy  United States
8 Midfielder Angel Heredia  United States
9 Forward Jack McInerney  United States
11 Forward Tristan Bowen  United States
12 Midfielder Peter Pearson  United States
16 Midfielder Niall Irwin  Ireland
19 Forward Josiah Romero  United States
27 Forward Julio Cervantes  Mexico
32 Midfielder Manny González  Colombia
33 Defender Robert Hines II  United States
44 Midfielder Ariel Mbumba  DR Congo
47 Goalkeeper Taylor Bailey  United States
49 Defender Tarn Weir  United States
50 Defender David Abidor  United States
88 Midfielder Seo-In Kim  South Korea
90 Goalkeeper Kevin Gonzalez  United States
91 Midfielder Yohannes Harish  Eritrea
98 Midfielder Jonathan Orozco  United States

Technical staff
  • Jordan Ferrell, Head Coach
  • Dario Pot, Assistant Coach
  • Kris Hall, Goalkeeping Coach
  • Quentin Higgins, Head Athletic Trainer
  • Yuta Tanaka, Strength and Conditioning Coach
  • Eric Yamamoto, VP of Soccer
  • Valentin Saldana Jr, Director of Team Operations
  • Muhammetberdi Merdanov, Team Manager

Front Office
  • Christina Low, Chief Operating Officer
  • Cynthia Roberts, VP of Gameday Operations
  • Taylor Beggs, Director of Partnerships
  • Alfonso Bui, Director of Media
  • Tommy Hodul, Director of PR, Comms & Broadcast Media
  • Consuelo Jacobs, Director of Live Events & Partner Activation
  • Joe Kalhor, Demand Generation Manager
  • Aaron Leavitt, Director of Ticketing Sales & Services
  • Karen Gonzalez, Membership Experience Manager

Founders
  • Benno Nagel, Co-founder, President
  • Edreece Argahndiwal, Co-founder, CMO
  • Mike Geddes, Co-founder, CPO
  • Benjamin Aziz, Co-founder, Advisor
  • Tommy Hodul, Co-founder, Director of PR and Comms
  • Matt Wolff, Co-founder, Advisor

Individual records

Managerial records
As of match played 7 March 2020
Name Nat. From To P W D L GS GA %W Honours Notes
Paul Bravo  United States 9 May 2019[37] 31 October 2019[38] 6 0 3 3 10 13 000.00
Jordan Ferrell  United States 3 December 2019[39] 2 1 1 0 3 2 050.00

References
  1. "Bay Area Soccer Roundup: 'Oakland Roots' announced, USL East Bay heads to Concord, Street Soccer USA Cup in SF, Quakes play 2 this week". blog.sfgate.com. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  2. "NPSL FOUNDERS CUP MEMBERS ANNOUNCE DATES FOR 2019 EVENT". National Premier Soccer League. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  3. "Oakland Roots Statement: League and Membership". Oakland Roots SC. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  4. Zimmerman, Douglas (19 February 2019). "Oakland sticks to its Roots with first signing, Devante Dubose". SFGate. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  5. Zimmerman, Douglas (18 March 2019). "Bay Area Soccer: Oakland Roots announce players, Quakes lose, UPSL, NPSL results". SFGate. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  6. Zimmerman, Douglas (25 April 2019). ""I am ready for this." Former U.S. U-20 captain Benji Joya joins Oakland Roots". SFGate. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  7. "Oakland Roots Sign World Cup Veteran Víctor Bernárdez". Oakland Roots SC. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  8. Zimmerman, Douglas (24 July 2019). "Ex-MLS star Jack McInerney joins Oakland Roots". SFGate. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  9. Woitalla, Mike. "Paul Bravo takes Oakland Roots' helm to complete Bay Area homecoming". www.socceramerica.com. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  10. Zimmerman, Douglas (1 September 2019). "Oakland Roots tie first ever game 3-3". SFGate. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  11. Zimmerman, Douglas (14 October 2019). "Bay Area Soccer: Oakland Roots win first ever game, College, UPSL roundup". SFGate. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  12. Zimmerman, Douglas (20 October 2019). "Oakland Roots earn draw in front of another sell out crowd". SFGate. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  13. "Oakland Roots and Paul Bravo Mutually Agree to Part Ways". Oakland Roots SC. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  14. "Jordan Ferrell Named Head Coach for Oakland Roots S.C." Oakland Roots SC. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  15. Zimmerman, Douglas (1 March 2020). "Late strike earns Oakland Roots point in season opener". SFGate. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  16. Zimmerman, Douglas (8 March 2020). "Oakland Roots win first NISA league match". SF Gate. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  17. "NISA OFFICIAL UPDATE". nisaofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  18. Zimmerman, Douglas (27 April 2020). "Bay Area Soccer: Oakland Roots, SF City and SF Glens seasons canceled". SFGate.
  19. https://blog.sfgate.com/soccer/2019/10/20/oakland-roots-earn-draw-in-front-of-another-sell-out-crowd/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. [(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCXSkp-CFqQ) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCXSkp-CFqQ)] Check |url= value (help). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn827BVSuAI. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. [(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu6my5GG7xQ) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu6my5GG7xQ)] Check |url= value (help). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. https://urbanpitch.com/oakland-roots/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1104037808614760450. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. https://blog.sfgate.com/soccer/2019/10/20/oakland-roots-earn-draw-in-front-of-another-sell-out-crowd/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. [httpshttps://twitter.com/oaklandrootssc/status/1199134384344879104 httpshttps://twitter.com/oaklandrootssc/status/1199134384344879104]. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. [httpshttps://twitter.com/oaklandrootssc/status/1199190312331051010 httpshttps://twitter.com/oaklandrootssc/status/1199190312331051010]. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxM049Rfezo
  29. https://www.facebook.com/oaklandroots/videos/632547380930494/?v=632547380930494
  30. https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/oakland-roots-draw-big-crowds-show-town-pride/Content?oid=27545466. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. https://oaklandrootssc.com/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. https://oaklandrootssc.com/news/2020/6/30/commongoal
  33. https://oaklandrootssc.com/news/2020/7/30/justice-match-announcement
  34. https://twitter.com/RootsOakland. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. https://oaklandrootssc.com/news/project51o. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  36. "2020 Squad". Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  37. "Oakland Roots Sign Bay Area Soccer Legend Paul Bravo as First Head Coach". www.oaklandrootssc.com. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  38. "Oakland Roots and Paul Bravo Mutually Agree to Part Ways" – Oakland Roots SC, December 30, 2019
  39. "Jordan Ferrell Named Head Coach for Oakland Roots S.C." www.oaklandrootssc.com. Oakland Roots SC. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
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