St. Petersburg, Fla. -- When the coronavirus put the Tampa Bay Rowdies season on pause, team president Lee Cohen saw an opportunity. "It’s like the old saying; given lemons, how do you make lemonade out of it," said Cohen.

With Al lang Stadium still closed off to the general public, the Rowdies wanted to stay engaged with fans during the pandemic. So they joined a new arena: Esports.

"We were still probably 12 months away from pushing that endeavor down the path but we saw it as a way to connect, to reach out to our community and tie our fan base together."

The team launched Rowdies Gaming earlier this month and is currently making it’s first foray into Esports by taking part in the USL eCup: FIFA 20 Edition. It’s a six week tournament that features 32 clubs from across the USL. Rowdies Gaming’s roster for the tournament consists of two Rowdies fans and Rowdies midfielder Malik Johnson.

"They asked a few of the players on the team if anyone would be interested in playing in the tournament and I said sure why not," said Johnson. "I’m confident in my skills in FIFA and I just thought it would be a good thing for me to join in."

Every team needs a good leader. Rowdies Gaming has theirs in Nuno Bianchi. The Brazil native has strong ties in the Esports industry and is like a swiss army knife for Rowdies Gaming. He serves as the program’s gaming ambassador, head coach, and commentator.

"My role is to drive people from a mentality that it’s competition focused and seeing gaming as a cultural manifestation and extension of what the Rowdies represent," said Bianchi.

Rowdies Gaming is focused on developing players in four games: FIFA, Hearthstone, League of Legends, and Rocket League. Cohen says the team is also planning on creating either an Esports lounge for fans at Al Lang Stadium or a gaming trailer that could set up near local youth soccer tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay area.