SF City FC: The Oldest Community-Owned Fútbol Club in the US Is Being Displaced

Directed by local filmmaker Daniel Díaz, Roll Fog starts at the historic Kezar Stadium, home of San Francisco City FC (SF City FC), the oldest community-owned fútbol club in the US. The sudden announcement of a new copycat club co-founded by finance executives and supported by billionaire mayor Daniel Lurie threatens to displace SF City FC, mirroring decades of gentrification faced by the city’s working class.

SF City FC’s fans have team memberships that give them the right to vote on major club decisions. SF City runs on a 50+1 ownership model, where it’s the club members who hold a majority of team shares, it’s a community-focused system.

But next year, SF City’s home field, Keizar Stadium, is being taken over by a new club, “Golden City FC” of the MLS Next Pro league. A new team owned by Mayor Luire donors, Geoff Oltmans of Silver Lake Partners (private equity) and Marc Rohrer of Wells Fargo.

When the mayor’s buddies offered City Hall $10 million to upgrade the stadium, the SF Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to give Golden City FC a 15-year permit to Kezar, kicking out the community-based team that has played there for decades.

SF City FC’s home games next year will most likely be hosted at Cox Stadium at San Francisco State University.

Filmmaker and City FC team member Daniel Díaz has made a film about the storied San Francisco and, following a sold-out screening of an 11-minute teaser at the Roxie Theater in March 2026, the Roll Fog team and SF City FC are sharing a new updated work-in-progress sample of the film. After the screenings, there will be an audience Q&A with director Daniel Díaz and members of the SF City FC team, hosted by the club’s commentators Jack Lowery and Mark Moreno.

Daniel Díaz: “Our team cannot wait to show everyone what we’ve been up to since we last shared an update six months ago at the Roxie. We’ve been hard at work filming throughout the team’s 2026 season, and it was a dream being able to capture SF City FC winning the USL 2 NorCal division and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in their history. This isn’t something we could ever have predicted. It’s truly a testament to the devotion and passion the community has for the club—players, coaches, supporters, and board included. The response was the ultimate defiance, with the club going further than it ever has and showing that the power in fútbol really is in the people. We strive to bring the same ethos to the documentary, which is why we’re committed to sharing this intimate look at our process with the very people who are participating in the story and making it all possible.”

This screening is part of Roll Fog’s ongoing fundraising efforts to finance the completion of a rough cut by the end of January 2027. The film’s team will be running a crowdfunding campaign to keep the project on track for an early 2028 release. Launching on Kickstarter on October 1st, the crowdfunding campaign will be accompanied by a series of events throughout the month in collaboration with San Francisco City FC, Standard Deviant Brewing, and Neighborhood Sports Club, as well as rewards including custom artwork, merch, early access to the film, and more.

“We had high hopes for the season but had no idea just how magical it would actually be. Luckily for us—and our supporters—Daniel Díaz and his small but mighty crew captured it all on video. The euphoric highs, emotional lows, and all the goals, goals, goals. We’re excited to see the story Daniel is telling and to share progress with our supporters, who have been eagerly following the documentary’s progress since Roll Fog started filming in 2025. ” - Ian Blackley, Creative Director at San Francisco City FC.

Audience members are encouraged to wear soccer jerseys and bring any team scarves or flags to the theater.

Tickets are available now: 

Presented by Roll Fog, San Francisco City FC, and Public Access FC, join us for an exclusive preview of upcoming San Francisco fútbol documentary Roll Fog at the 4-Star Theater in San Francisco, on October 3rd at 3pm and October 11th at 12:30pm.