Project 51O is a soccer club from

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

competing in the Southwest Division of

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...

. They are the reserve club of

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

club

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer team based in Oakland, California. 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. In 2021, ...

. 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".

History

launched their reserve club on December 9, 2019. The concept of Project 51O was based on

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

's Project 40, which ran from 1997 to 2005 and sought to develop the U.S. national team player pool. Project 51O will mirror parts of that development program, but with a community-based twist. Originally set to compete in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially affiliated to the U ...

for the 2020 season, the team only played one match, a win over Napa Valley 1839 FC, before the season was halted and eventually cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. On September 17, 2020, the team announced it would compete in

beginning with the 2021 season. 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. For the Fall 2021 season, they added a team in the

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was foun ...

to allow for year-round development, while still remaining part of USL League Two.

Year-by-year

Honors

League

**Southwest Division Champions: 2022 * UPSL **NorCal Conference Champions: Fall 2022

References

USL League Two teams Association football clubs established in 2019 Soccer clubs in Oakland, California Sports teams in Oakland, California Soccer clubs in California {{California-footyclub-stub