23 Players Earn Trial via the COPA–Oakland Roots Objective Pathway
We’re thrilled to share a major milestone in the growing partnership between COPA Soccer Training Center and Oakland Roots and Soul Sports Club: this week, 23 players were objectively selected — purely through their COPA Score results — and invited to a trial event hosted at the Roots’ facility.
This is exactly the type of result we envisioned when COPA STC became the Official Talent ID Partner of Oakland Roots and Soul Sports Club last year.
A Quick Recap: Why This Partnership Matters
This partnership was built on a shared commitment to discovering and nurturing local talent through objective, data-driven assessments. By leveraging performance data from all three Roots teams, the collaboration supports individual player development for the club’s younger talents training weekly at COPA STC — while also establishing clear benchmarks for comparing prospective players to professional standards.
Earlier this year, we launched the Objective Pathway Initiative — a free, open opportunity allowing up to 1,000 players aged 15–22 to complete a COPA Score (covering technical, physical, cognitive, and maturation metrics) and see how they stack up against professional benchmarks.
In February 2025, COPA and Roots hosted a Talent ID Day at the Roots Training Facility. Twenty-six top performers were invited based on their COPA Scores, several of whom earned direct invites to train with the club — with one ultimately being offered an academy contract. The event demonstrated how objective metrics can break through traditional scouting barriers and open doors for emerging talent.
This Week’s Breakthrough: 23 Players Identified Anonymously through COPA’s Scouting Tool
This week marks another major leap forward: 23 players, representing 14 different clubs across various age groups, were identified anonymously through COPA’s Scout Tool and invited to the Roots’ annual Roots Recognized Initiative — an event designed to spotlight players capable of progressing into the Roots pathway via Project 51O and, ultimately, the first team. This effort has seen much success for local players recently with the sale of Etsgar Cruz to Club America, Oakland’s Own Ali Elmasnaouy Signs First Pro Contract and Roots SC Signs Ilya Alekseev to a Pro Contract
Traditionally, players are invited to the club’s events based on Director of Coaching recommendations or direct scouting by Roots technical staff. However, this time, players were also selected based entirely by data. Using COPA’s Scout Tool, Roots staff identified players who demonstrated elite technical execution, exceptional physical qualities, high stress tolerance, and an overall strong COPA Score profile.
Perhaps most compelling, scouts were also able to identify later-maturing players whose skills are already advanced, but whose physical growth is still developing — the kind of long-term prospects that can easily be overlooked through conventional scouting.
These opportunities are possible because of the COPA Score, which provides every assessed player with a comprehensive performance report through the new COPA Score Dashboard. Meanwhile, scouts can access COPA’s anonymized database of over 4,000 players (and growing), filtering by specific metrics, key traits like top speed, or maturation stage.
This system is redefining how players are discovered — allowing talent to rise through objective, unbiased evaluation rather than perception or pedigree.
What’s Next
As soccer continues to grow across the U.S., so too does the role of technology in shaping its future. Through the COPA Score and forward-thinking partnerships like this one with Oakland Roots, players now have access to standardized, objective evaluations that provide actionable feedback, clear direction, and real opportunities.
Opportunities are being created not just for those with talent, but for those committed to developing their talent.
This week’s achievement — 23 players earning an opportunity to showcase themselves on the field through their COPA Scores — is more than a statistic. It’s a proof point in a broader movement: one built on innovation, fairness, and opening doors for players who deserve to be seen.
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