Running into 2025 like…
A look back at our biggest-ever year in 2024 and where we’re going next
Locked in: Laser focus from a participant at the My Yute Soccer Camp in June 2024, which was funded by the Oakland Roots & Soul Foundation.
If there is one thing 2024 has taught us, it’s that the need for inclusive, community-focused programming that tackles persistent inequality and social division is only going to increase in the years to come.
This year, Oakland Roots & Soul Sports Club achieved something that seemed like a dream just a few short years ago, when it was announced that the Roots will play in the Oakland Coliseum in 2025. But keeping pro sports in the Town is just the beginning - our vision is a legacy of positive change for the next generation through the power of soccer.
In 2024 the Foundation has been working alongside our partners and the Club to tackle the most persistent barriers to youth sports participation - lack of free or low-cost soccer programming, lack of trained and inclusive coaches and a lack of safe spaces - through our core programs; Soccer for All, the Oakland Coach Academy and Safe Places to Play.
Soccer for All: Thanks to the support of our donors like Anthem Blue Cross and the Mirnahill Foundation, ORASF was able to fund two free soccer camps over the summer serving 200 youth aged 8-14. Organized by local partners My Yute Soccer and Let the Kids Play, the camps provided free soccer and equipment and featured appearances by Oakland Roots and Soul players as guest coaches. The Foundation also provided direct financial support to six ‘Purpose Partners’ providing free programming to over 2,000 underserved youth across Oakland throughout the year and funded the creation of a city-wide ‘Futsal Cup’ as part of the City of Oakland Department of Violence Prevention’s Town Nights initiative.
Oakland Coach Academy: In 2024, with the support of partners like Anthem Blue Cross, the Verizon Foundation and the Southwest Foundation, we launched our Community Coach Leadership Program for 35 prospective coaches from underserved communities. The candidates were a mix of teachers, parents and non-profit workers, specifically selected from groups under-represented in youth soccer coaching. Throughout the program they received an official US Soccer Grassroots Coaching License as well as health and safety training and training in ‘inclusive coaching’ from Positive Coaching Alliance. In 2024 and with the support of the PG&E Foundation, the Academy also kicked off the second cohort of ‘Switch the Pitch Oakland’, a groundbreaking partnership with the nonprofits Common Goal and Soccer Without Borders which brings social justice education to 35 established youth club soccer coaches to help foster inclusive environments in all communities. Together, these coaches will positively impact the sports experience of thousands of youth across the East Bay.
“This training was wonderful and gave me a completely new understanding of how important it is to be open to other opinions and ways of life.”
Safe Places to Play: The Foundation supported the creation of the ‘Field Of Dreams’ at Brookfield Elementary School, which was built by Purpose Partner America SCORES Bay Area and will help them serve thousands of youth in East Oakland. The Foundation is also supporting ‘Longfellow Fields’, a community soccer facility in West Oakland scheduled to open in early 2025 which will provide free evening soccer programming to youth from across the city, underneath an iconic and inspirational mural created by the Club and local artists.
“The Oakland Roots and Soul Foundation exemplifies the power of community-driven efforts to foster a healthier, more inclusive future for all our children.”
2024 has been our most impactful year to date but we want to do more, and faster, to meet both the urgent challenges facing our youth and the opportunity presented by the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is driving an unprecedented rise of interest and investment in soccer in the United States.
This Giving Season, our goal is to raise $50,000 to help us achieve our 2025 goals;
Expand free soccer programming in Oakland and the East Bay
Train more coaches through the Oakland Coach Academy
Open a free, Friday Night community soccer program for youth in Oakland
Any size of donation will help us achieve our goal, and it’s just a few clicks away. Thankyou for believing in Oakland!
