THURSDAY LUNCHEON SPEAKERS - Devante Dubose and Steven Aldrich, Oakland Roots Soccer
Formed in 2018, the Oakland Roots soccer club is a professional men’s soccer team that is preparing to join the National Premier Soccer League — a pro league that will have 11 teams nationwide, divided between East and West divisions. The Oakland club will have its first game on August 31 at its new home pitch at Laney College. After that, the Roots will compete in the NPSL’s West division, with franchises from Arizona, San Diego, Orange County, and Ventura County (north of Los Angeles). The NPSL’s national championship will be held in November.
Devonte Dubose, an Oakland native who played at Virginia Tech and later on the San Jose Earthquakes and other professional teams, was the first player signed by the Roots. Steven Aldrich, one of the founders and a board member, is chief product oficer at GoDaddy.com and a lifelong soccer fan who spent his formative years playing and watching soccer with his father on the East Coast.
One block from the 19th Street BART station