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Charlotte FC adds another player to its global soccer roster, this time from Ecuador

Charlotte FC has added another international name to its inaugural roster. The expansion Major League Soccer team announced Monday that Ecuadorian central midfielder Jordy Alcívar will join Charlotte FC on a four-year contract with an additional option year.

Alcívar will occupy one of eight international roster slots for the team set to begin competition in 2022. He becomes the second player from South America to join Charlotte FC, joining Uruguayan center back Guzmán Corujo.

Alcívar, a native of Manta, Ecuador, has been a fixture at Ecuadorian club LDU Quito since early in his professional career. He’s scored five goals and notched six assists in 83 appearances for the club competing in Serie A, the top level of Ecuadorian men’s professional soccer. He also started all six matches of LDU’s Copa Libertadores run this season.

Once the MLS trade window opens, Charlotte FC will complete a deal with FC Cincinnati for Alcívar’s discovery rights in exchange for $100,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM). His move is pending his medical evaluation and receipt of his P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate.

Alcívar is expected to report for Charlotte FC’s preseason in January after completing the season with LDU Quito that runs through December, but he could be playing at Bank of America Stadium well before then in an international friendly for Ecuador. Ecuador’s men’s national team is scheduled to play Mexico in Charlotte on Oct. 27.

Although Alcívar has not yet made an appearance for Ecuador’s senior team, he has been a member of the country’s youth national team, making four appearances for the U-20s at the South American Championships that qualified Ecuador to the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup (third-place finish).

Charlotte FC sporting director Zoran Krneta said in a statement that club leadership identified a player with experience in “big moments” for club and country.

“(Alcívar) brings balance to our midfield and can control the game with and without the ball at his feet,” Krneta said. “He comes from a well-respected league in South America and is very experienced for a player of his age.”

Alcívar becomes Charlotte FC’s eighth player and contributes to a team full of international talent that includes Corujo, Polish defender Jan Sobociński, Spanish midfielder Sergio Ruiz, Australian midfielder Riley McGree, Austrian defender Christian Fuchs and two U.S.-born players, defender Adam Armour and midfielder Brandt Bronico.

Spanish coach Miguel Ángel Ramírez will be the club’s head coach.

Charlotte FC player facts

Name: Jordy Alcívar

Position: Midfielder

Height: 5’6”

Weight: 140

Date of Birth: August 5, 1999

Age: 22

Birthplace/Hometown: Manta, Ecuador

Last Club: LDU Quito