Bay of hope

Local expectations

For Roots head coach Ryan Martin, the World Cup games being held at Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium are a huge statement about the interest in soccer in the Bay Area. He hopes that the attention during the World Cup will bring more people out to watch Roots games as well.

Beyond organizing community watch parties for World Cup games, the Roots are hosting the Australian national soccer team at their training facilities.

They are also partnering with local restaurants to bring Australian-inspired items to menus.

The Bay Area is home to diverse soccer leagues and teams: the Roots play in the lower-tier USL Championship league, while San Jose in the south is home to Major League Soccer's Earthquakes and the National Women's Soccer League's Bay FC. The latter broke the single-game record for NWSL attendance, with over 40,000 people watching at San Francisco's Oracle Park.

Semi-professional and amateur teams also abound.