Our fair trade Volta Professional Ball was the match ball in the Justice Match hosted by the  Oakland Roots Sports Club last October 10. The primary purpose of the match was to celebrate and promote racial and gender equity. 

Formed in 2018 by a group of Oakland natives, Oakland Roots S.C. seeks to harness the magic of Oakland and the power of sports as a force for social good. The pro soccer team began to play in the National Independent Soccer Association in the fall of 2019. Whether on the pitch, in the stands, or within the community, the ORSC represents this one-of-a-kind city with passion, pride, and commitment to those values that the Oakland community stands for.

What is the foundation of this partnership?  

Oakland Roots and Senda’s synergy is based not only on location proximity —Senda’s  headquarters are located in Berkeley, a 15 mins bike ride from the Roots’ offices. But most importantly, it’s based on both organizations' shared mission: to promote the practice of sports as a vehicle for improving young people’s lives. 

Senda has been supporting non-profit organizations like Soccer Without Borders and Street Soccer USA —among others— which are also ORSC’s purpose partners. On the other hand, Senda’s products are Fair Trade Certified™️, which means that they are manufactured according to rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards. As a Certified B Corporation, Senda meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. 1% of all of Senda sales go to help organizations that are improving people’s lives through sports. 

In addition to the Oakland Roots by Senda Fair Trade Soccer Ball, Senda collaborates with the club by hosting a booth at all Roots home games along with other partner brands, and by providing training vests for game days and practices, as well as freestyle soccer balls that are showcased at community events.  The Roots by Senda ball is available in size #5 and size #1 on our website.

Interview with Taylor Beggs 

We had the chance to interview Taylor Beggs, Director of Partnerships at Oakland Roots Sports Club who shared his thoughts on this hopefully lasting partnership with Senda.  

Senda: Can you tell us the story behind the Oakland Roots in Oakland? 

T.B.: The concept of bringing pro soccer to Oakland has been in the works for over 4 years. We spent the first couple of years in the community asking the question, “why isn’t there a pro soccer team in Oakland? There are all of these other successful teams…” After a couple of years of research, we heard all the potential obstacles and knew we could overcome them. So we created a community advisory board to determine what could the pro soccer team do not only on the field but most importantly off the field to have a big impact in the community. We held numerous focus group sessions to develop the identity, brand and purpose of the club and with input from key community stakeholders we announced the club in 2018 and sold out the first 5 home games at Laney College in downtown Oakland. 

Senda: How and why did you decide to start a soccer team in Oakland? 

T.B.: At the very beginning, while sharing the vision of a new pro soccer team with key community stakeholders and potential investors it was important for us to not park a bus on the community like the majority of sports teams do. We wanted to do things differently and start out grass roots as it’s really the only way to do it in Oakland. Oakland is one of select towns in the US that is not afraid to call out organizations or companies if they do not represent and respect the values, the culture, the arts and history of their ancestors and community. Oakland is known for challenging assumptions and doing things differently so we felt it was our duty to do it the Oakland way, the only way.