Oakland Roots announced they signed 20-year-old midfielder Ali Elmasnaouy to a first-team professional contract on Thursday. It’s a move that completes Elmasnaouy’s rise from the Project 51O academy to Roots.
It’s a move that largely represents the ethos of the entire Roots organization; fostering local talent through its academy to first-team starter and, potentially, helping them reach the next level of their careers elsewhere.
“This is really my passion. This is what I want to do. I want to make it as far as I can with soccer,” Elmasnaouy said, via KTVU.
“We’ve seen the growth in his poise and leadership on the field, as well as his off-field attention to detail and maturity since joining our program in the summer of 2022,” technical director Jordan Ferrell said. “Ali continues to consistently do the little things well, which has earned him opportunities to grow through the levels of our club. He is a prime example of what we have built with Project 51O and the roots of our club, strong local homegrown talent, making an impact with our first team.”
Elmasnaouy has started all seven of new head coach Benny Feilhaber’s games in charge after largely appearing as a substitute in six other games under Gavin Glinton. Feilhaber has often sung the praises of Elmasnaouy since his arrival.
“An easy one who wasn’t playing as much before I got here is Ali,” Feilhaber said following Oakland’s 2-1 win over Monterey Bay on June 28 after being asked about players who have surprised him. “I think he’s gotten better almost every single game… What he has is something that’s hard to coach. Like the desire to receive passes in difficult pockets and being able to feel your way out of moments. He’s young, he’s got the desire to get better and he’s definitely got the work ethic.”
Ali has been rated as one of Oakland’s best players over his last five appearances, continuously proving he’s a full-fledged starter in each week to follow. We named Elmasnaouy our Man of the Match following Roots’ 1-nil win over Birmingham Legion for drawing the game-winning penalty kick. He earned a 7.4 rating by FotMob against Monterey, logged an assist against Detroit City, while receiving ratings of 7.0 against Phoenix, and a 7.6 in their recent win over Loudoun.
His assist against Detroit was one of his most impressive plays, dribbling himself free and attracting multiple defenders before finding Panos Armenakas with open space.
“Today was a huge game for him,” Feilhaber said after their win over Detroit on July 5. “I’m glad I didn’t make the decision to bring him out at halftime. I wanted to see if he could still up his performance from the first half. He had an extremely impressive second-half performance. He has a hell of a future ahead of him and a high soccer IQ. Very coachable and nothing but praise for him.”
Armenakas added that Elmasnaouy’s talent has been visible since the preseason.
“Since preseason, we’ve seen his quality, and he’s been biding his time. I’ve always put my arm around him because I see myself when I was younger in him. I think I’ve taken that role a bit, mainly with Ali. The connection is building, and we’re always looking for each other. His calmness and maturity have been unbelievable. His composure was big for us, even when 1-0 up, he was drawing fouls and keeping possession.”
Elmasnaouy, 20, first arrived at the organization in 2022 with Project 51O, graduating from Berkeley High with the Class of 2023. He also competed with Bay Oaks, Lamorinda Soccer Club, and Ballistic United before joining Project 51O.
Ali made his first appearance on Roots in 2024, scoring the game-winning goal in their 2-1 extra-time win over El Farolito in the U.S. Open Cup. He played in six more games last season.
In 2025, Elmasnaouy has appeared in 13 matches for 706 minutes across all competitions, recording one assist.
He’s among the most accurate long passers as a midfielder in the USL Championship, completing 85.7 percent of his passes, ranking in the top 3.8 percent of players. His 60.6 percent win rate on duels is in the top 7.6 percent of midfielders. Ali is also credited with 13 tackles, winning 76.5 percent of his attempts.
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