Ahead of the World Cup's opening matches in Santa Clara, the SF LGBT Center in the Castro has launched SF Pride House, a hub for LGBTQ+ soccer fans featuring watch parties, community events, and other programming throughout the tournament.

Pride House SF has opened at the SF LGBT Center ahead of the 2026 World Cup, serving as a gathering space for LGBTQ+ fans, athletes, and allies visiting the Bay Area, as the Chronicle reports. Organizers have planned events throughout the tournament, including speaker panels, watch parties, and community gatherings timed to coincide with World Cup matches.

The initiative is part of a larger network of Pride Houses planned across all 16 North American host cities. The concept reportedly grew out of hospitality spaces created for LGBTQ+ visitors at major international sporting events, though largely absent from recent World Cups in Russia and Qatar due to anti-LGBTQ+ laws and restrictions.

Organizers say the project takes on added significance as some international travelers express concerns about visiting the United States amid increased immigration enforcement and policies affecting transgender and nonbinary people, according to the Chronicle.

“Sports are a space that generally have not always been inclusive of the LGBTQ community as well as other marginalized groups,” San Francisco Spikes soccer club member Danielle Thoe told the outlet. “The biggest tournament in the world has been hosted in spaces that are not welcoming or inclusive to LGBTQ folks. So it’s important that we as a community stand up and explicitly say, ‘No. Soccer is an inclusive place. You are welcome here.’”

While Bay Area World Cup matches will be held in Santa Clara, organizers expect many visiting fans to spend time in San Francisco, where Pride House programming will continue throughout the tournament.

Related: FIFA World Cup Ticket Prices Among Lowest in the Bay Area

Image: Bill D./Google Maps

Some tickets to the World Cup events in San Jose have fallen to less than half their original price as the first match approaches in just a few weeks.

Ticket prices for next month’s FIFA World Cup matches at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara have dropped roughly 24% on the resale market over the past month as the tournament approaches, based on data from ticket tracking company TicketData, as NBC Bay Area reports.

According to KTVU, FIFA is still releasing additional tickets in phases for matches that haven’t sold out, including the six games scheduled in Santa Clara and select US National Team matches in Los Angeles and Seattle. The first Bay Area match is set for June 13 between Qatar and Switzerland.

Additionally, as SFist reported earlier this month, a report by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), which represents more than 32,000 properties and over 80% of hotel franchises, found that hotel reservations at all of FIFA’s host cities were much lower than anticipated.

According to the BBC, the AHLA is accusing FIFA of “manufacturing demand” by booking too many rooms in advance, which artificially drove up prices, keeping many fans from making reservations. The agency later reportedly cancelled up to 70% of the rooms it reserved at hotels in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle after many of them made considerable investments in anticipation of a tourist boom.

Fans in England told the BBC they’re traveling on budgets and plan to stay far away from the sporting venues. One fan said his group is budgeting $75 per person a night during their trip, and they’re looking to stay at a hotel or Airbnb that’s around 45 minutes to an hour’s commute.

The BBC notes that after the initial spike in hotel bookings after the official schedule was announced, they've been decreasing ever since. The AHLA said it was still optimistic that sales will pick up in June and July as fans finalize their plans.

On the other hand, Airbnb says it anticipates that the World Cup will be its biggest hosting event in the company’s history, ahead of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

Related: Bay Area World Cup Schedule Announced, and Team USA Might Play One Game Here

Image: Brazilian sports fans watching match and celebrating at a bar (Getty Images)

• Several homes in Cupertino were flooded Friday after a water line was damaged near Scenic Boulevard around 10 am. Area residents are urged to momentarily boil their water to avoid contamination. [KGO]

• Students from Oakland’s Coliseum College Prep Academy organized a protest Friday in response to last week’s school shooting in Minneapolis. The students walked out during lunch holding signs that proclaimed: “WE DESERVE TO LIVE,” as part of a nationwide campaign by Students Demand Action [KQED]
• BART made promises in 2019 that the agency would build a backup system to prevent system-wide meltdowns such as the one that occurred Friday morning, but they have yet to follow through on it. [NBC Bay Area]
• Diplomats from Seoul, South Korea are currently in Georgia negotiating the release of around 475 South Korean nationals who were detained by ICE at a Hyundai factory; all business trips from South Korea to the US have been cancelled. [BBC]
• A drive-by shooting occurred around 11:12 pm on the 6000 block of Stevenson Boulevard in Fremont in which at least two people were hit; police are investigating. [KPIX]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

Local women’s soccer team Bay Football Club played its first game at Oracle Park Saturday against Washington Spirit. Despite the team’s loss of 2-3, the game drew the most attendees in the history of US professional women’s sports, prompting discussions of moving to SF.

As the Chronicle reports, the excitement among fans at Saturday’s game was palpable. The game drew a record-breaking 40,091 attendees, which was triple the size of Bay FC’s usual draw of around 13,400 fans, as the Chronicle notes. The team’s home stadium, San Jose’s PayPal Park, has a capacity of 18,000.

“It’s not hard to absolutely fall in love with San Francisco, but I also  think that it’s just a wonderful place. I think the diversity of the  population speaks to football, they understand the game and they’ve  loved and supported it, just as our other communities have in Northern  California,” Bay FC co-founder and retired soccer champion Brandi Chastain told the Chronicle. “But I believe that to be true of most of Northern  California.”

Mission Local reports that fans were wearing jerseys from as far and wide as Mexico, El Salvador, Korea, and Barcelona, among the swaths of Bay FC and Washington Spirit swag, and Oakland-born Bay Area sports enthusiast, Too $hort, made a halftime appearance.

Mission Local writes that Washington Spirit team members, who are also accustomed to a smaller stadium, were thrilled by the energy at Oracle Park. “We’re kind of used to 20,000 at Audi Field [in DC], but 40,000 here? It’s unbelievable,” Spirit coach Adrián González told Mission Local. “This is not a coincidence — the players deserve this. Ten, 15 years ago it didn’t happen like this. Look at what you are achieving.”

Saturday’s record attendance has intensified talks of the team moving somewhere with a larger capacity. Lisa Goodwin-Scharff, executive vice president of communications at Bay FC, told the Chronicle that San Francisco is “an option” — one of many the team is considering.

“Our hope is to have our own stadium one day,” Goodwin-Scharff told the Chronicle. “We don’t know where that’s going to be, so our goal right now is to connect with all nine counties of the Bay Area, and we’re doing it with the fans we’re seeing here today. They’re showing up.”

Fans told the Chronicle and Mission Local at Saturday’s game that they'd attend more games if the team were located in San Francisco.

“I think accessibility to Oracle Park versus the PayPal stadium definitely influenced me to come up to the game,” Hunter Martinez, a Menlo Park resident, told the Chronicle. “I think that’s the biggest distinction, two tickets, too. I have to buy a clipper and then exchange for MUNI down there.”

Bay FC’s longtime fans have a different opinion. Season ticket holders, Dina Nadler-Serber and her daughter Henny, told the Chronicle there’s something special about games at PayPal Park due to the stadium’s intimacy. “The good thing about a small park is that you have a dedicated fan base. So it’s really, like, a good community. And we show up as soon as doors open for every game,” Nadler-Serber said.

Bay FC fan Shannon Vanderpol Hennessey told the Chronicle it’s unlikely that regular games at Oracle Park would draw the same numbers as Saturday’s game. “I think part of why people show up for this kind of game is because it’s a one-off or really exciting,” she said. “The vibe of PayPal and all the support in the peninsula and everything is really special, and I don’t know about moving that.”

Image: Racheal Kundananji #9, Caprice Dydasco #3 and Asisat Oshoala #8 of Bay FC, November 10, 2024, Washington, DC.; Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Previously: Notable Humans: Record-Breaking Bay FC Women’s Soccer Star Empowers Zambian Youth

The former Oakland Raiders training facility has been rebranded as the UCSF Health Oakland Roots and Soul Performance Center in a deal finalized Friday by SF-based Redco Development, with the revenue split between the City of Oakland and Alameda County.

In a press release, the club notes that the facility, which is located at 1150 and 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway in Alameda, includes an 18,000-square-foot indoor training facility, five acres of sports fields, and a second 100,000-square-foot building with offices, locker rooms, meeting spaces, training rooms, and an auditorium. The Roots and Soul teams have used the site for the past four years under a license agreement and have now signed a 15-year lease.

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Redco managing partner Chris Freise said, “Roots and Soul are building something really special here in the East Bay, and we’re honored to help anchor that vision with a permanent home.”

As NBC Bay Area reports, Oakland Roots competes in the USL Championship, and Oakland Soul plays in the USL W League. President Lindsay Barenz emphasized the importance of the facility, stating, “Having a strong training facility is vital to the success of our club… this is a huge step towards our long-term sustainability in Oakland.”

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The complex has hosted top international teams, including the Mexican Men’s National Team, Real Sociedad, Sevilla, Wrexham FC, and the Wales Women’s National Team. It also supports local programming such as coaching workshops, NorCal Soccer events, and club-led community initiatives.

“This agreement is great news for Oakland and our entire sports community,” said Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. “We’re investing in our city’s future, building community pride, boosting the local economy, and continuing to position Oakland as a dynamic sports destination.”

Image: Oakland Roots and Soul Sports Club website

Previously: Oakland Roots Soccer Team's Inaugural Sold-Out Home Opener At Coliseum Breaks Club Record, Outdraws A’s

Now on Saturdays! Racheal Kundananji uplifts Zambian youth through sport; historian and retired librarian Dorothy Lazard inspires the community to preserve Oakland's past; and Sven Jobe and Mallie Testerman transform Pier 70 into an artists' hub.

Zambian footballer Racheal Kundananji may have made headlines as the world’s most highly paid women’s player when she signed with National Women's Soccer League’s Bay Football Club in early 2024, but it’s her off-the-pitch legacy that she’s most focused on building. After rising from playing soccer in secret as a girl in Lusaka to Olympic stardom and European success, Kundananji launched the Racheal Kundananji Legacy Foundation to address critical issues facing youth in Zambia—addiction, HIV/AIDS, and teen pregnancy.

Through school supplies, mentorship, and visits to places like Lusaka’s Sanity House rehab center, she’s connecting directly with young people, offering not just inspiration but tangible support. As a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, Kundananji now uses her platform to champion education, prevention, and empowerment, particularly for girls. With every goal she scores in the NWSL, she’s giving kids back home another reason to believe in something bigger.

Catch Kundananji and the Bay FC team at Oracle Park on August 23 competing against Washington Spirit.

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Dorothy Lazard doesn’t just remember Oakland — she helped archive it. As head of the Oakland History Center for over a decade, the retired librarian made local history accessible, personal, and urgent. Her lived experience—growing up during white flight, the rise of Black Power, and redevelopment—made her a uniquely trusted guide.

Lazard’s memoir, What You Don’t Know Will Make a Whole New World, recounts her early years after moving from St. Louis to San Francisco, and then Oakland. It’s a story about libraries as refuge, and knowledge as power. “History keepers hold the future in their hands.”

Her work helped countless people understand how Oakland came to be — and how the community might move forward. Along the way, she became something rare: a librarian with a fan club. She made local history legible and deeply human, especially for those who didn’t think of themselves as historians.

In retirement, Lazard is still writing, still remembering. The History Center is now in good hands, she says, but her legacy — of rigor, humor, and deep care — remains shelved in the stories she helped others discover.

Ceramicists Sven Jobe and Mallie Testerman are bringing new life—and ancient craft—to San Francisco’s Pier 70, transforming a former WWII shipbuilding site into a hub of contemporary artistry. Their studio, Sven Ceramics, makes elegant, gold-accented tableware for Michelin-starred restaurants, but it’s more than just beautiful design: it’s family history in full circle. Jobe’s grandmother welded ships here; Testerman’s grandfather engineered them. Now the couple fires plates, mugs, and bowls just yards from where their ancestors once built battleships.

After a decade working from a backyard studio, they’ve moved into the revitalized Building 12 with a showroom, teaching space, and a 2,300-pound kiln that barely fit in the elevator. The couple—who pivoted from careers in construction and education—designs ceramics that honor the Bay Area’s natural and built landscapes. “We’re still making stuff,” Jobe says, “just in a totally different way.” Their story is one of lineage, craftsmanship, and the slow, hot work of building something lasting.

Image: SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 22: Racheal Kundananji #8 of Bay FC controls the ball during a game between Racing Louisville FC and Bay FC at PayPal Park on March 22, 2025, in San Jose, California. (Photo by Elysia Su/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Previously: Notable Humans: Berkeley Teen Takes On World’s Toughest Swims To Raise Money For Pediatric Cancer

Get ready for the minor-league soccer team Golden City Football Club to take over Kezar Stadium, after it was announced Friday that the new team is coming in 2026 or 2027, along with a $10 million renovation to make Kezar more of a pro sports venue again.

We noted in last week’s 100th anniversary of Kezar Stadium commemoration that the place used to be the much larger home venue of the San Francisco 49ers (and briefly even the Oakland Raiders), and is currently a high school sports venue and home to the semi-pro soccer team San Francisco City FC. But Kezar Stadium is about to get a multi-million dollar makeover, and become a much bigger deal. The Chronicle broke the news that San Francisco is getting a new men’s professional soccer team, to begin play at the renovated Kezar Stadium in 2026 or 2027.

They will be called Golden City Football Club (GCFC), and they already have a website, albeit a bare-bones site that only shows you the team colors. They will play in a minor-league affiliate of Major League Soccer called MLS NEXT Pro, with 15 home games a season at Kezar, mostly on weekends, in a season that runs from February through October.

MLS Next Pro is the third-tier of Major League Soccer, not unlike Major League Baseball’s minor leagues, or the NBA’s G-League. (The league has games on today if you have Apple TV and want to watch them.) The league is not affiliated with the Oakland Roots and their USL Championship League, but it’s the same league as the San Jose Earthquakes’ minor-league affiliate The Town FC who play at St. Mary’s in Moraga.

“This announcement is more than just a new team — it represents a new era for San Francisco sports,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a Friday morning press release. “From business and retail to sports, it's a good time to bet on San Francisco, and I’m thrilled to partner with MLS NEXT Pro to bring a new team to our city.”

According to that announcement from Lurie’s office, the new team ownership will put  “a minimum of $10 million in capital improvements at Kezar Stadium, with further investments planned.” That means a new natural grass field and irrigation system, new seats with backrests, a sound system, pro venue-style concession stands, and even a dazzling LED scoreboard.

That’s going to be paid for by the team’s co-founders Geoff Oltmans and Marc Rohrer, whom the Chronicle describes as “Bay Area finance executives and San Francisco soccer dads who both played collegiately.”

Major League Soccer executive vice president Charles Altchek added in Lurie’s press release, “We are excited to work with GCFC on their plan to bring an independent team to San Francisco. Bringing professional soccer to this iconic city aligns with our mission to expand the reach of the game and foster a vibrant soccer culture in communities across North America."

This will not interfere with the other uses of Kezar stadium, and you’ll still be able to run that track which will generally remain open to the public. Kezar will still serve as the home team football venue for Mission High School and Sacred Heart Cathedral, and they’ll still have the Turkey Day Game high school championship there. It will just be a better stadium with a kick-ass scoreboard.

As the Chronicle reminds us, we once had a pro soccer team called the San Francisco Deltas that played at Kezar Stadium back in 2017. They won the North American Soccer League championship in their first year, but the league promptly folded 12 days after that championship.

Today’s announcement is surely a boon to the Upper Haight’s small businesses, particularly the sports bars.

"For decades, Kezar Pub has been a gathering place for fans of Bay Area sports —whether it’s football, rugby, soccer, or basketball — and we know firsthand how vital sports and tourism are for local businesses like ours,” Kezar Pub owner Cyril Hackett said in Lurie’s release. “We look forward to carrying on our tradition of hospitality and can’t wait to see GCFC fans fill the pub before and after matches.”

Related: El Farolito’s Amateur Soccer Team Beats Yet Another Pro Team, Continuing Stunning Tournament Run [SFist]

Image: San Francisco Deltas via Facebook

Local soccer team Oakland Roots drew a record 26,575 fans to their inaugural home opening match at the Coliseum on Saturday, which the team ultimately lost to opponents, San Antonio – 1-2.

According to NBC Bay Area, Oakland Roots, which formed in 2019 as part of the United Soccer League, received a huge welcome at their first home opener at Oakland Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, which they lost to San Antonio. 26,575 fans showed up to cheer on the team, with huge crowds reportedly tailgating prior to the event and chanting and drumming enthusiastically throughout the game.

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The sold-out match puts the team in the #1 spot in single-game, regular-season attendance among active United Soccer League clubs, according to the team’s social media account. Play-by-plays of the game on the Roots’ website and blog say that the team put in an impressive effort in the first half but seemed to lose footing after the half-time break, with a final score of 1-2 in San Antonio's favor.

During previous years, Roots games took place at Lainey College and CalState East Bay, both of which have about a 5,000-person capacity.

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Sports Illustrated points out that yesterday’s Roots match outdrew the A’s current numbers since the team now plays at a minor-league ballpark with capacity capped at 14,000 per game.

This is a testament to the level of passion that fans in The Town have when they're treated with respect and loyalty, and not simply for how much money they can pay to a billionaire owner.

Some highlights of yesterday’s game include honoring Oakland A's Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who passed away in December and presenting a jersey to the parents of Oakland teenager, Derbing Alvarado, an avid soccer fan who was shot last week.

Rap legend Too Short performed during the half-time show, and Oakland’s W. Kamau Bell was in attendance with fellow “multi-hyphenate” filmmaker Rafael Casal, who was born and raised in the East Bay.

Casal recalls feeling similar excitement on Saturday that he did as a kid, hanging out in the Coliseum parking lot:

Now another homegrown institution is making a big leap, so we’re here to support and make sure the Roots get their shine.

Bell speaks to the Oakland community’s desire to come together and show their pride again:  

It's just Oakland’s getting a bad rap around the country, and even a bad rap sometimes on the streets of Oakland, and look at all this positivity and beauty and joy and excitement.

Previously: Oakland Roots Soccer Team Will Play at the Oakland Coliseum Starting Next Year

Image: Oakland Roots Facebook page

There will be pro sports at the Oakland Coliseum after the A’s leave, as Oakland’s men’s professional soccer team the Oakland Roots will play their home games there starting in 2025.

When news broke last week that the soon-to-depart Oakland A’s had sold off their stake in the Oakland Coliseum, we mentioned the likelihood that the stadium could still be used by men’s pro soccer team the Oakland Roots, and their pre-professional sister women's soccer team the Oakland Soul. The Oakland Roots side of that deal became official Monday morning, as KTVU reports the Roots have signed a $3 million deal to play their home games at the Oakland Coliseum starting in 2025. The Roots currently play at California State University, East Bay, the Soul play at Merritt College.

The video above announces the team’s new digs, though the video seems more focused on the venue’s baseball history than its soccer future. And honestly, the video's line that “Here, there’s always room at the top” comes off as an unflattering reminder of the A’s long-running attendance woes at the Coliseum.

Still, the news comes as a welcome distraction for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, who can try to paint this as some sort of “Oakland on the upswing” story while she battles a recall effort and deals with the fallout of an FBI raid on her home.

“We are honored to be able to play our 2025 season in such an iconic venue,” Oakland Roots president Lindsay Barenz said in a statement. “We’re proud to ensure pro sports stay at the Coliseum next year.”

Obviously, the 63,000-seat Oakland Coliseum is a little too large for an Oakland Roots soccer team that averages only about 4,000 attendees per home game. But as the Bay Area News Group explains, the team has plans to build a new 10,000 seat soccer stadium on an area of the stadium’s parking lot. The team has been working on moving that proposal forward for about a year now.

The Oakland Roots are a pro team, were founded in 2018, and play in the Division II USL Championship league. The Oakland Soul are currently a pre-professional team, though plan to move into the new professional women’s USL Super League next season. Neither team plays in the most prominent US soccer leagues, which are Major League Soccer for men, and the National Women's Soccer League for women.

The just-sold Oakland Coliseum will soon be owned entirely by the African American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG). In addition to the Malibu Lot stadium, the group has plans to redevelop the entire Coliseum site for future sporting events, including a possible NFL expansion team.

Meanwhile, the Oakland Roots’ ownership group has some big names like former Oakland Raider Marshawn Lynch, Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong, and Dallas Mavericks coach (and Oakland native) Jason Kidd.

Related: A’s Sell Their Share of the Oakland Coliseum to Black-Owned Development Group for $125 Million [SFist]

Image: @Kaplan4Oakland via Twitter

No beans about it, the amateur soccer team affiliated with the taqueria El Farolito is now the best Cinderella story in soccer, as they beat their second consecutive professional team in  the US Open Cup tournament Tuesday night.

It was only recently that most SF sports fans (or burrito fans) learned of the US Open Cup, the longest-running soccer tournament in the United States, where about 100 soccer teams from various different professional leagues compete for the cup, and a few amateur teams are thrown in the mix too.

The amateur soccer team affiliated with popular Bay Area taqueria chain El Farolito made waves in this year’s tournament when they beat the pro team Portland Timers 2 in late March. On Tuesday night, El Farolito SC faced another pro team, the Central Valley Fuego FC, in their second-round US Open Cup.

And once again, El Farolito stunned the pro team, beating Central Valley Fuego FC by a score of 2-1 in Merced, California, according to Remezcla.  

I don’t know who this announcer was, but the winning call on the goal seen above is quite an all-timer. The 87th-minute goal was scored by El Farolito forward Dembor Benson, who scored both of the team’s goals Tuesday night, as well as the winning goal in their March tournament victory over Portland.

It’s rare that amateur teams defeat professional teams in this tournament. But El Farolito became the first amateur team to beat two pro teams during regulation time in the US Open Cup tournament with Tuesday night's win.

The team will also advance to the tournament’s Third Round for the first time since they won the tournament outright in 1993. (At the time, they were called Club Deportivo Mexico.)

According to the Chronicle, El Farolito SC will learn who their next opponent is on Thursday. But the rest of the games won’t be played anytime soon. While the Third Round of the US Open Cup is April 16-17, according to the tournament schedule, the semifinals aren’t until way off in August, and the Finals match is scheduled for September 25.

Related: El Farolito Amateur Soccer Team Knocks Off Portland Pro Team in Stunning Tournament Upset [SFist]

Image: MERCED, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 2: Dembor Benson #9, Erik Arias #13 and Herlbert Soto #7 of El Farolito celebrate a goal during an US Open Cup qualifying match on April 2, 2024 in Merced, California. (Photo by Maciek Gudrymowicz/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

• The El Farolito FC soccer club hopes to continue their Cinderella run in the US Open Cup tournament, as they face another pro team in the tournament, and Tuesday’s 5:30 match will be streamed online for free. The amateur team El Farolito FC that's affilated with the famed taqueria chain defeated the pro team Portland Timbers 2 in late March, and in a “Sweet Sixteen” matchup Tuesday night, they’ll play the USL League One pro team Central Valley Fuego FC. The match will be streamed online for free, and of course, it will be played live at the El Farolito Bar at Mission and 24th streets. [US Soccer]
• The City of Oakland met with the Oakland A’s to negotiate that five-year, $97 million lease extension that Oakland offered the team to play out their last few years at the Coliseum, but the A’s say the two sides are still “far apart on the terms needed.” Meanwhile, the A’s demoted a player to the Minor Leagues and benched another, and fans are speculating the demotions were because those players were spotted wearing “Sell the Team” merchandise. [Bay Area News Group]
• A YIMBY lawsuit against the City of San Francisco has backfired, as the YIMBY group is being forced to pay $32,000 to cover the city’s legal costs after they sued SF over the supervisors’ rejection of a Nordstrom parking lot housing development in 2021. [Chronicle]
• Safeway and Target stores in Marin County were busted for overcharging customers unfairly, but they’ve been nailed for this before, and they seem to just pay the fine and do it again. [SFGate]
• Israel has another humanitarian tragedy on their hands, as one of their attacks on Gaza killed seven members of Chef José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen, and President Biden called Chef Andrés to offer his condolences. [NBC News]

Image: @efilnikufsin via Twitter

We got your March Madness right here — the taqueria El Farolito’s amateur soccer team El Farolito SC defeated the pro team Portland Timbers 2 Tuesday night in the first round of the US Open Cup.

The interesting thing about the US Open Cup, America's oldest ongoing soccer tournament that was established in 1914 and just started its 2024 tournament on Tuesday, is that it often pits pro teams against amateur teams. That means that any random amateur team could theoretically beat a pro team, or even win the whole tournament.

And the 2024 US Open Cup started its first round Tuesday with a supreme upset. The local amateur soccer club called El Farolito SC — yes, the soccer team affiliated with the El Farolito taqueria chain — upset the professional soccer team Portland Timbers 2 Tuesday night 2-1 in their 2024 US Open Cup opener, according to Soccer Bay Area.

(Portland Timbers 2 is the reserve squad of the Major League Soccer team the Portland Timbers. But Portland Timbers 2 is a paid, professional team, while El Farolito SC is an amateur team that plays their home games at Balboa Park).

While Portland took a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute, Yhoann Yabur tied the game with a header in the 51st minute (seen above). Striker Dembor Benson scored the winning goal in the 68th minute, also on a header.

“It’s been a great experience to travel and play at a beautiful venue against a young and talented squad,” El Farolito coach Santiago Lopez told Soccer Bay Area after the match (he’s the son of the late El Farolito founder ‘Don Chava’ Salvador Lopez). “We are eager to find out where we will play in the Second Round.”

They don’t know who they will play in the Second Round, but the game will be on either Tuesday, April 1, or Wednesday, April 2nd.

So could El Farolito SC goooooo all the way, and win the whole tournament over a host of professional teams? They have before, winning the 1993 US Open Cup, though under their previous name Club Deportivo Mexico.

And they do play before then, this Saturday, March 23 against the Sacramento Gold, in a non-tournament game at Boxer Stadium in Balboa Park.

You can watch Tuesday’s 2-1 El Farolito SC win in its entirety below.

Related: El Farolito Is Coming to North Beach After All [SFist]

Image: @efilnikufsin via Twitter

Six matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played at Levi's Stadium in June and early July 2026, but these won't include any of the more decisive games in any of the later rounds of the tournament.

We've known for almost two years that Santa Clara will play host to a piece of the North America-hosted FIFA World Cup in 2026. Levi's Stadium and the Bay Area were selected in 2022 as one of 16 host cities/venues for the tournament, which will span the U.S., Mexico, and Canada — with around 60 matches played in the U.S., and ten each in Mexico and Canada.

And having six matches on the schedule at Levi's is about as many as most venues will host, with 6.5 being the average. The tournament was recently expanded to include 48 teams and 104 matches.

But, as NBC Bay Area reports, five of those matches will be early in the tournament, and only one, on July 1, will be in the Round of 32. Vancouver and Seattle will each host a game in the Round of 16, and Los Angeles is the only western city that will host a quarterfinal game.

The five matches at Levi's in the group stage will be on June 13, 16, 19, 22, and 25, in 2026.

The other host cities are Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Guadalajara in the Western division; Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Monterrey, and Mexico City in the Central division; and Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, and New York/New Jersey in the Eastern division.

The iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City will host the opening match of the tournament on June 11, 2026.

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey, the home of the New York Jets and New York Giants, will host the World Cup Final on July 19, as we also learned on Monday. Because of FIFA's ban on corporate naming of venues, it will be referred to, during the tournament, as the "New York New Jersey Stadium."

Levi's Stadium, in turn, will be referred to as the "San Francisco Bay Area Stadium."

The first match for Team USA will be played in Los Angeles on June 12.

See the full schedule below.

Top image: Getty Images

The San Jose Earthquakes secured their long-awaited spot in the MLS playoffs Saturday night, even though the game ended in a 1-1 draw against Austin FC.

The sold-out crowd at PayPal Park erupted into celebrations when it was confirmed that the Earthquakes were playoff-bound for the first time since 2020 and only the third time in the last 11 seasons, as the Mercury News reported.

A first-half goal by the Quakes' winger Cristian Espinoza, and seven saves from goalie Brad Stuver helped earn the 1-1 draw, per the Associated Press.

First-year head coach Luchi Gonzalez reportedly transformed the team in his inaugural season reshaping it from a team that conceded the most goals in the Western Conference to one that allowed the fourth-fewest goals. According to MLS, Gonzalez is a former FC Dallas head coach and US men’s national team assistant coach.

Still, the Earthquakes finished their season with four consecutive ties and ended with just enough points (44) to come into the playoffs as the final seed, per Mercury News.

A win on Saturday would have guaranteed the Earthquakes the opportunity to host the play-in game against Kansas City’s soccer team, Sporting KC. However, now the draw means they will go on the road to face a KC team that has won seven of their last nine games.

They’ll play in a Wednesday single-elimination Wild Card game at 6:30 p.m. PT, per MLS. Then the winner will advance to a Round One Best-of-3 series against No. 1-seed St. Louis CITY SC.

With their rebuilt defense performing admirably and standout key players like Cristian Espinoza and Jackson Yueill, the Earthquakes are setting their sights on a strong postseason performance. As Coach Gonzalez told the Mercury News, "This is a league where there are always upsets in the playoffs, there are away teams beating home teams. Do we want to be one of those teams? Why not San Jose?”

Feature image of former San Jose Earthquakes player Victor Bernardez firing the siren during the game between Austin FC and San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park on October 21, 2023 in San Jose, California. Photo by Maciek Gudrymowicz/ISI Photos/Getty Images.

The Oakland Roots men’s soccer team and Oakland Soul women’s team have released renderings of their new proposed stadium designs, for if and when they move into their new home next to the Oakland Coliseum.

The Oakland pro soccer team Oakland Roots had traditionally played at Laney College, but this season moved their games to the fields of California State University, East Bay, where they will play next season as well. But both are interim homes, as the team, as well as its women’s soccer counterpart Oakland Soul, have been publicly proclaiming their desires for a soccer stadium next to the Oakland Coliseum.

That’s far from being a reality, but the teams are moving forward with proposals. And to that end, KTVU reports they released renderings of the proposed new stadium, and are asking for public feedback.

The Roots and Soul said in a joint announcement, “This survey represents the latest step in the club’s community engagement process ahead of the construction of Oakland’s first, dedicated pro soccer stadium for the 2025 USL Championship and USL Super League seasons.”

There are a few more renderings on this survey page, which says the “Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul are seeking feedback from fans and the local community to help shape the game day atmosphere and fan experience at the proposed Malibu Lot interim stadium located adjacent to the Oakland Coliseum."

The stadium would be on an unoccupied far corner of the Coliseum site known as the Malibu Lot. The location and plans are explained in the video below, from April.

The Coliseum stadium deal would also be an interim site, and it is nowhere near being approved yet. The clubs have teamed with the African American Sports & Entertainment Group to try to get approval for a temporary stadium on the half of the Oakland Coliseum property owned by the City of Oakland. The African American Sports & Entertainment Group is also trying to get Oakland a WNBA expansion team.

Related: Oakland Seen as Potential Expansion City for Major League Baseball, After A's Departure [SFist]

Image: Oakland Roots