Koke Vegas: He's the face of the state's new minor league soccer club, Rhode Island FC
Name: Koke Vegas
Age: 28
Hometown: Antequera, Spain
Position: Goalkeeper, Rhode Island Football Club
There won’t be an athlete in or from Rhode Island facing more pressure in 2024 than Koke Vegas.
If you don’t know the name, you’re excused. Even the most fervent soccer fans might not know about the 28-year-old Spanish goalkeeper who will be, by default, the face of Rhode Island FC – the minor league soccer team that will compete under a microscope when it begins play in March.
All eyes will be on Rhode Island FC in 2024 because of the controversy surrounding the state’s involvement in the construction of the Tidewater Landing project, which includes the soccer stadium where Rhode Island FC will eventually play.
Initial plans had the stadium being finished by 2024, but struggles with financing pushed it back, so the franchise will call Bryant University’s Beirne Stadium home for its inaugural season.
Vegas needs to play well to help Rhode Island FC win games and win over the state. The soccer community in Rhode Island is loud and proud, but it isn’t as big as it wants you to believe.
It’ll be up to Vegas to make it larger. Nobody hops on a bandwagon faster than Rhode Island sports fans (there’s a reason why people here root for Providence College basketball, the New York Yankees and the New York Giants), and if Vegas and his team prove that soccer can be a success in Rhode Island, it’ll matter more than any championship a team could win.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island FC's Koke Vegas the face of new minor league soccer team
