Oakland Roots just dropped their 2026 look — and it’s a full-on “Town story” release.
The club announced its 2026 Official USL Championship jerseys with Charly, featuring Anthem Blue Cross as the front-of-shirt partner, plus ThredUp returning on the back above the name/number, Ava Community Energy on the sleeve, and Penumbra added as a new lower-back sponsor for this season’s kits. Roots packaged the reveal around the theme “myth, movement, and The Town,” even partnering with Sun Creature, an award-winning animation studio, to produce an animated short that frames the jerseys as more than a design drop.
The Roots’ 2026 primary kit is titled “The Oak-ness Awakens,” built around Oakland’s long-running Lake Merritt folklore — the club’s “Oak-ness Monster” mythology. Design-wise, the jersey uses a deep matte black base with a subtle gloss ripple pattern meant to reflect movement across the lake’s surface. Hidden in that ripple is an abstract “dragon-eel” creature motif — intentionally not loud, not obvious, but visible in certain light. The club says silver accents highlight elements like the crest and details, the inner collar reads “Born of The Town,” and Lake Merritt coordinates are included beneath the collar to tie the myth back to a real Oakland landmark. \
The away/secondary kit is named “Mosaic in Motion,” described as the daylight counterpart to the black primary — brighter, open, and future-facing.
Roots say the jersey features a white base with a mosaic of geometric shapes across the front, intended to represent Oakland’s diversity and unity, paired with a full-color Oakland Roots crest and subtle mosaic detailing on the collar and sleeves.
Roots said the 2026 jerseys went on sale online today (Feb. 25). They’re also doing multiple in-person sales points: Feb. 28 (11 a.m.–4 p.m.) at Oakland’s Lunar New Year Parade (Lincoln Square Park and Wilma Chan Park), March 8 at Oakland Fans Fest at Fruitvale Station, and at the club’s home opener on March 14, 2026.
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