Willis Forko (12 November 1983 – 8 November 2021Memorial page
/ref>) was a Liberian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Career

Youth and college

Although born in Liberia, Forko and his family moved to

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

when he was three years old. Willis attended Cy-Springs High School in Cypress, TX where he graduated in 2002. He began his collegiate soccer career at the University of South Carolina in 2002. He played one season there before transferring to the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

. At UConn he appeared in 65 matches, notching three goals and 15 assists, and was twice named to the Third Team All Big East.

Professional

Forko was selected in the second round, 14th overall, of the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft by

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

. He went on to play 38 games for RSL in their first two seasons in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, before leaving the club at the end of the 2007 season. Forko signed with the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

in 2008, but a month after signing with the Whitecaps, it was announced that Forko had been transferred to the

Norwegian Premier League Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

side

FK Bodø/Glimt Fotballklubben Bodø/Glimt () is a Norwegian professional football club from the town of Bodø that currently plays in Eliteserien, the Norwegian top division. The club was founded in 1916 and is frequently referred to by its original club na ...

. He went on to spend two seasons playing in the

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

, making 60 appearances for the team. Forko returned to Vancouver in 2010 with hopes of joining the club in its move to the

in 2011. He made his first appearance for the Whitecaps on August 29, 2010 in a 2–2 tie with the

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer pyr ...

. Forko died on 8 November 2021, four days before what would have been his 38th birthday.Tidligere Glimt-spiller er død
Nettavisen (12 November 2021)

Personal life

Forko's older brother, Sam Forko, played in

for the MetroStars in 2003.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forko, Willis 1983 births 2021 deaths African-American men's soccer players American men's soccer players Men's association football fullbacks Liberia men's international footballers FK Bodø/Glimt players Liberian emigrants to the United States Major League Soccer players Eliteserien players Footballers from Monrovia Real Salt Lake players Soccer players from Houston South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer players UConn Huskies men's soccer players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Real Salt Lake draft picks American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Norway 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people