Second-tier pro soccer is returning to the northern half of the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time since 2017 and with it, perhaps, some long-awaited stability.
The Oakland Roots, which launched last year and quickly made waves with their colorful logo, intriguing player signings and savvy grassroots marketing, will depart third-division NISA at the end of this year and join the USL Championship in 2021. The move simultaneously strengthens the second-division league—which will need a presence in Northern California once the Sacramento Republic enter MLS—and diminishes NISA, which is still struggling to establish traction in its second season.