Project 51O is a soccer club from Oakland, California competing in USL League Two and United Premier Soccer League. They are the reserve club of USL Championship club Oakland Roots SC. The name 51O is partly inspired by Oakland's 510 area code, although features the letter O in place of the number 0 to stand for "Oakland".

Project 51O
Full nameProject 51O
Founded2019
StadiumUCSF Benioff Training Facility
Head CoachZak Gordon
LeagueUSL League Two and UPSL
Websitehttp://www.project51o.com/

History

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Oakland Roots SC launched their reserve club on December 9, 2019.[1] The concept of Project 51O was based on Nike's Project 40, which ran from 1997 to 2005 and sought to develop the U.S. national team player pool.[2] Project 51O will mirror parts of that development program, but with a community-based twist.[3]

Originally set to compete in the National Premier Soccer League for the 2020 season, the team only played one match, a win over Napa Valley 1839 FC,[4] before the season was halted and eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

On September 17, 2020, the team announced it would compete in USL League Two beginning with the 2021 season.[6] They later announced they would go on hiatus for that season along with the rest of the Southwest Division and begin League Two play in 2022.[7] For the Fall 2021 season, they added a team in the United Premier Soccer League to allow for year-round development, while still remaining part of USL League Two.[8]

Players and staff

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Current roster

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2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   USA Edwin Rodriguez
DF   FRA Thomas Camier
MF   USA Kieran Bracken
FW   USA Javier Bedolla-Vera
FW   USA Luis Saldaña
DF   USA Ilya Alekseev

Year-by-year

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Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup
2020 4 NPSL N/A, 1-0, Season cancelled to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 4 USL2 Did not play due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Fall 5 UPSL 3rd, 7-1-2, Wild West Conference Round 1 N/A
2022 4 USL2 1st, 8-2-2, Southwest Division Round 1 N/A
2022 Fall 5 UPSL 1st, 8-0-2, NorCal Conference Round 3 N/A
2023 Spring 5 UPSL 2nd, 7-2-1, NorCal South Conference Round 1 N/A
2023 4 USL2 3rd, 5-0-7, NorCal Division Did Not Qualify Round 1
2023 Fall 5 UPSL 2nd, 7-2-1, NorCal South Conference Round 4 N/A
2024 Spring 5 UPSL 4th, 6-1-3, NorCal South Conference Round 2 N/A
2024 4 USL2 2nd, 9-1-4, NorCal Division Conference Finals N/A
2024 Fall 5 UPSL NorCal South Conference N/A

Honors

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League

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  • USL League Two
    • Southwest Division Champions: 2022
  • UPSL
    • NorCal Regular Season Conference Champions: Fall 2022
    • NorCal South Regular Season Conference Champions: Fall 2024
    • NorCal South Playoff Conference Champions: Fall 2023

References

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  1. ^ "Oakland Roots Launch NPSL Team Project 51O". National Premier Soccer League. December 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "Project 51O Joins USL League Two ahead of 2021 season". Oakland Roots SC. September 17, 2020.
  3. ^ Chazaro, Alan (October 22, 2020). "Are the Oakland Roots the most civic-minded team in pro sports?". SF Gate.
  4. ^ "Napa Valley 1839 FC Drops Home Opener 2-1 to Newcomer Project 51O". National Premier Soccer League. March 11, 2020.
  5. ^ Prince-Wright, Joe (March 26, 2020). "2020 NPSL season cancelled". ProSoccerTalk.
  6. ^ Staff, USLLeagueTwo com (September 17, 2020). "USL League Two Welcomes Project 51O For 2021 Season". USL League Two.
  7. ^ "USL League Two's Southwest Division to Forgo the 2021 Season". Breakers FC. April 6, 2021.
  8. ^ "Oakland Roots and Project 51O Launch UPSL Side to Continue Year-Round Development". Oakland Roots SC. August 12, 2021.