San Francisco Deltas

The San Francisco Deltas soccer team were led by CEO Colombian-born entrepreneur, Brian Andrés 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.

Helmick wanted to run the club like a tech startup, leading to some of "the most convoluted and confounding series of choices in American soccer", including hiring a Director of Marketing who admitted she had "no business being the Director of Marketing of anything really, let alone for a professional soccer team in one of the world’s greatest cities".

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 notice for its large Canadian contingent, including coach Marc Dos Santos and captain Nana Attakora. The team was dubbed "Canada's Unofficial Team".

The Deltas earned their first competitive victory on Saturday, April 8, 2017, beating North Carolina FC 3–1 at home. 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. The Deltas earned their first US Open Cup victory on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, beating Burlingame Dragons 2–1.

Despite that on-field success, the team struggled to draw fans or attention in San Francisco. In July, Helmick wrote a blog post lamenting poor attendance at the games. He warned that the Deltas might not return for a second season if that situation didn't improve, challenging the fans with "only you can fix this". He asked each supporter to bring one friend to the next game, who would then each bring one to the following game, a "proposal that superficially looked like a pyramid scheme."

The Deltas continued to succeed on the field and struggle off it all season. After the team earned a spot in the NASL championship final, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Deltas could fold even if they won the championship, citing poor attendance and over $8 million in losses.

On November 12, 2017, the Deltas beat the New York Cosmos 2–0 to win the NASL championship. Twelve days later, on November 24, 2017, the Deltas announced that it had ceased operations effective immediately, releasing all players and staff from their contracts.

Record