Board of Directors
Samir Romero
President/ Co-founder
While Samir Romero was born and raised in Colombia, which is where he played soccer for Deportivo Cali, he is a dedicated and loyal member of the Rockford community. Since arriving in the U.S. at 21-years-old, Samir climbed the coaching ranks through the Rockford Raptors organization as well as the high school ranks. As an assistant at Rockford Christian, Samir helped the Royal Lions win back-to-back regional and sectional titles.
Brendan Noble
Vice-President/ Co-founder
Brendan Noble is new to Rockford, but when his wife, Andrea, brought him here in February of 2019, he quickly fell in love with the city. As an avid Eintracht Frankfurt and Detroit City FC fan, it became a dream for him to help establish a soccer (Fußball) club in his new city, and he is extremely excited to be involved with Rockford FC. In the soccer world beyond Rockford FC, Brendan is a referee and has probably heard you yell at him for giving a card to your child. He is also a data enrichment specialist at ABC Supply Co. Inc. in Beloit and a published author.
Pablo Burgos
Amaro
Board Member/ Director of videography
Pablo Burgos Amaro was born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, more exactly in Colonia Independencia. Pablo has been refereeing for the last 26 years, which makes him a very knowledgeable person on the matter. Pablo was born June 20th, 1964 and he was of the first licensed referees in the Rockford Metropolitan Area.
Jonathan Burgos Gonzalez
Board Member & Co-Director of Videography and Narrator
Jonathan Burgos was born and raised in Rockford Illinois Jonathan graduated from Jefferson High School in 2017, a Jayhawk.
Jonathan has loved soccer since his high school days and has been refereeing since he was 15 years old. Currently, Jonathan has 10 years experience refereeing and is currently licensed to referee in Illinois.
Daniel Westland
Performance Analyst- Assistant Coach
Dan Westlund is a proud, long-time resident of Rockford, where he resides with his wife, and their two sons—both of whom play soccer.
With a passion for soccer, he has dedicated over five years to coaching, moving from grassroots to competitive club and school teams. In 2024, Dan became the varsity head coach for Eisenhower Middle School, leading the team to their first city championship in a decade—an achievement that speaks to his skill in developing athletes and fostering team success.
In the same year, Dan helped re-establish the Roscoe Lions Soccer Club, by coaching their first team, a U14 coed team. This effort highlighted his commitment to the growth of youth soccer in the region.
Dan holds a National C License from U.S. Soccer and remains committed to growing the sport in the Rockford area, both through coaching and community engagement.
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Matt Kochakjckiewicz
Team Weather
Forecaster
Matt Kochajkiewicz resides in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Though he resides in another city, Matt has grown fond of the Rockford Community and has visited numerous times the city.
Matt is a full-time firefighter and is currently pursuing a weather forecasting certificate.
In his spare time, Matt is always looking and keeping an eye on the weather and enjoying all things sports.
Matt also has a deep passion for Soccer, and how the game can interestingly be changed or affected by his second passion, the weather.
