San Francisco Deltas

The San Francisco Deltas were an American professional soccer team based in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 2016, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2017. The franchise played its home games at Kezar Stadium located at the south-east end of Golden Gate Park.

In the same year they started to play in 2017, they won the 2017 NASL Championship and then folded 12 days later.

History

The San Francisco Deltas soccer team were led by CEO Colombian-born entrepreneur, Brian Andres Helmick. On October 14, 2015, the Deltas got the final signatures for admission to the North American Soccer League (NASL) in order to bring pro soccer to San Francisco.

The Deltas were financially backed by a group of investors from Silicon Valley tech companies and venture capital firms as well as investors from Brazil. The group included Jonathan Peachey, former CEO of Virgin in North America; Danny Khatib, Co-Founder, President and COO of Livingly Media; and Josh McFarland, senior director of product at Twitter.

The Deltas promised to bring tech-inspired innovations to the sport, including a virtual reality fan experience and artificial intelligence ticketing system, none of which were ever fully realized.

The first three players were announced on December 12, 2016 with more announced over the next two months.

Prior to the team's debut, it received high praise for its large Canadian contingent, including coach Marc Dos Santos and captain Nana Attakora. The team was dubbed "Canada's Unofficial Team".

Including their first preseason, The Deltas did not lose a match in nine games, drawing six and winning three, including a 1–0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in a preseason friendly. Their first loss was on April 29, 2017 against the New York Cosmos where they lost 1–0.