Bay of hope

"We have so much grassroots soccer that happens here," said Aaron Mansfield, a volunteer who oversees membership organization for the San Francisco City soccer club. The semi-professional team has a member-ownership model, with members having the right to vote on the club's direction and be elected to the board of directors.

Mansfield hopes that the World Cup will be an opportunity to show how they do things locally.

"General interest in soccer culture is good, because we get to explain what we do differently and why that matters in the context of both local, national and global football," he said.

Shelley and Josh Estelle have been fans and members of SF City for three years. They attended a recent game, together with their daughter, on an unusually sunny day at Kezar Stadium, where there is a view of San Francisco's landmark Sutro Tower.

"I really like the community-supported club here," said Josh. "It's not corporate and it feels like just the people in my neighborhood watching soccer together."

While they plan to watch broadcasts of World Cup games as a family, they didn't get tickets to see a game at Levi's Stadium. "It's very expensive," said Shelley. "We can watch much more affordable soccer right here at Kezar."