Nickname(s) | RIFC | ||
---|---|---|---|
Founded | December 2, 2019 | ||
Stadium | Beirne Stadium Smithfield, Rhode Island | ||
Capacity | 5,252 [1] | ||
Head coach | Khano Smith | ||
League | USL Championship | ||
2024 | Inaugural season | ||
Website | Club website | ||
Rhode Island FC is an American professional soccer club headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The team plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship.
On December 2, 2019, it was announced that a USL Championship team playing in a new soccer-specific stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island would be a centerpiece for a large development project to be named Tidewater Landing. [2] The stadium was proposed to seat at least 10,000 fans [3] and be connected to shops, apartments, offices, and a hotel in a $400-million plan. The project's initial goal was to have the team playing by 2022.
In order to move forward with the project, team ownership requested partial funding from the State of Rhode Island and City of Pawtucket, with the remainder covered by team ownership. Plans moved slowly due to inflation and supply-chain delays caused by COVID-19, and costs increased from initial projections. [4] Rhode Island's Governor, Dan McKee, cast the deciding vote in a Rhode Island Commerce Corporation meeting on July 25, 2022, to provide funding and allow construction of the stadium. [5] Groundbreaking occurred on August 12, 2022. [6] [7]
On November 14, 2022, the team announced their name as Rhode Island FC (RIFC) and revealed their team crest and colors. The crest incorporated an anchor design, with a monogram of "RI" embedded in the anchor stem. Lightning bolts were placed at the edges of the anchor to represent the team's energy. The team noted that the anchor has been historically a symbol of Rhode Island since 1647, and the modern design in the crest gives evidence of "hope" and being "grounded in the community". Team colors were established as amber and bay blue. [8] [9]
The day after the team name was announced, RIFC allowed fans to place advance deposits for purchase of season tickets, which could be applied for a later purchase. The team reported success with the deposits with more than 2500 in the first week, exceeding volume from any previous USL franchise at their debut. By December, the team reported receiving season ticket deposits from customers in each of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns. [10] [11]
Former Bermuda national team captain Khano Smith was named the team's first head coach and general manager on March 8, 2023. [12]
Work on the new facility continued after the groundbreaking, but stalled out as owners needed more funding due to additional construction costs. [13] [14] The team announced that it would make plans to play its first season at Bryant University's Beirne Stadium while completing construction of the stadium at Tidewater Landing. [15] Additional funding was obtained by the owners from unnamed investors. Full financial support for construction was announced on August 9, 2023, and bonds were issued in early 2024 to complete the financing. [16] [17] [18] The total construction cost of the stadium is estimated at $130 million. [19]
On November 1, 2023, the team announced the signing of the first player in team history, Spanish goalkeeper Koke Vegas. Vegas came to the team after playing for the San Diego Loyal for two years, and many years at various clubs in Spain. [20] He was subsequently named the team's first captain on March 12, 2024, several days prior to the team's first game. [21]
Chip, RIFC's mascot, was introduced on November 9, 2023. Chip is an anthropomorphic harbor seal, who loves football and roots for RIFC as his favorite team. The harbor seal is the official marine mammal of the state of Rhode Island. [22] Symbolic of his Rhode Island roots, the team described Chip as having thirteen whiskers (Rhode Island being the thirteenth state), spots on his fur that look like the team crest, and a marking on his nose that looks like an anchor. He wears a headband that reads "wicked good soccer". He also enjoys eating fish and chips, quahogs, and hot wieners. [23] [24]
The team held a "reveal party" on December 4, 2023, to show off their new home and away kits. [25] The home kit, dubbed the "energy kit", is a mainly bay blue uniform with lightning bolt trim to evoke the lightning bolts in the team's crest. The away kit is known as the "Rhode kit" and is amber with lighter yellow pinstripes. The names of all 39 cities and towns of Rhode Island are embedded in the pinstripes, and a nautical design of knotted ropes is added as a detail on some of the striping. The team stated that the kit is a "commitment to community" for away games. Both kits have the team's crest on the front left chest, and the logos of the three primary sponsors on the front, sleeve, and back. [26] [27]
The team's inaugural match was a sellout on March 16, 2024, against New Mexico United, ending in a 1-1 tie. The first goal in team history was an own goal scored in second-half stoppage time by New Mexico defender Chris Gloster. [28] It was the first time in USL Championship history that a team earned a point in its inaugural game. [29]
Season | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Sleeve sponsor |
---|---|---|---|
2024– | Capelli Sport [30] | Front: Breeze Airways [31] Back: Rhode Island Energy [32] | Centreville Bank [33] |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Front Office | |
---|---|
President | Brett Luy |
General Manager | Khano Smith |
Assistant General Manager | Sean Carey |
Stadium General Manager | Paul Byrne |
Office Manager | Julia Menendez |
Technical Staff | |
Head Coach | Khano Smith |
Assistant Coach | Dave McKay |
Assistant Coach | Marcos Ugarte |
Assistant Coach / Director of goalkeeping | Karl Spratt |
Team Administrator | Jason Gove |
Head of Video Analytics | Juan Andres Vasquez |
Head Athletic Trainer | Teresse Rehwoldt |
Director of Sports Performance | Matthew DelGreco |
Equipment Manager | Nicholas Coelho |
Coach | Nationality | Start | End | Games | Win | Loss | Draw | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Khano Smith [12] | Bermuda | March 8, 2023 | present | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.00 |
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls and Lincoln to the north, and North Providence to the west. The city also borders the Massachusetts municipalities of Seekonk and Attleboro.
Charleston Battery is an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional soccer club in the United States.
Beirne Stadium is a stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island. It is the home stadium for the Bryant University college football and men's and women's lacrosse programs. Beirne Stadium will also host USL Championship club Rhode Island FC during their inaugural 2024 season. The stadium holds 4,400 people and was built in 1999. It was renamed from Bulldog Stadium on September 24, 2016. It has also hosted numerous events for Rhode Island High School State Championships.
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began play in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation as a Division II league since 2017, placing it under Major League Soccer in the hierarchy. The USL is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. They won the league championship in 2023, defeating the Charleston Battery 3–2 on penalty kicks after a 1–1 draw in regulation time.
Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, the team started play in 2014 at the 20,231-seat Hughes Stadium, before moving midseason to their current home at Heart Health Park. Republic FC won the 2014 USL championship and have made the playoffs eight times.
Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of the American soccer pyramid.
Albert Dikwa Lega is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a forward for USL Championship club Rhode Island FC.
Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field.
Cameron Lindley is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Indy Eleven in the USL Championship. Having played college soccer for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he joined Orlando City in 2018 after his Homegrown rights were traded from Chicago Fire.
El Paso Locomotive FC is an American professional soccer team based in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019.
New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded June 6, 2018, the team currently plays in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team is owned by Peter Trevisani, with head coach Eric Quill, and play their home games at Isotopes Park which has a capacity of around 13,500 people.
Loudoun United FC is an American professional soccer team based in Leesburg, Virginia. The team was founded in 2018 as the reserve team of D.C. United and made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019.
Austin Bold FC was an American professional soccer team located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2017, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. In 2021, Austin Bold FC announced it would be moving to Fort Worth, Texas leaving Circuit of the Americas at the end of the season but may have to wait until 2023, depending on the construction of their stadium. As of March 2024, the team remains inactive.
San Diego Loyal Soccer Club was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship. The team shut down following the 2023 season after failing to find a long-term home venue.
Queensboro FC (QBFC) was an American professional soccer club based in the borough of Queens in New York City. It was founded in November 2019, and unveiled an official crest and color scheme on October 6, 2020.
Monterey Bay Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Monterey County, California. The club was established on February 21, 2021, and is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer league system. It began playing during the 2022 USL Championship season as a member of the league's Western Conference.
The 2024 Rhode Island FC season is the first ever season for Rhode Island FC. The club debuted in the USL Championship, the second tier of professional soccer in the United States.
The 2024 USL Championship season is the 14th season of the USL Championship and the seventh season under Division II sanctioning. The 2024 season has 24 teams participating in two conferences during the regular season. Conference realignment moved Memphis 901 FC and FC Tulsa to the Western Conference, while expansion sides North Carolina FC and Rhode Island FC joined the Eastern Conference. Phoenix Rising FC are the defending league champions and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC are the defending Players' Shield winners.
Jackson Lee is an Australian soccer player who plays for USL Championship club Rhode Island FC.