Revs Acquire International Roster Spot

Trade With Wizards Allows New England to Sign Another Foreign Player

June 30, 2009

The New England Revolution has acquired an international roster spot from the Kansas City Wizards in exchange for the Revs’ natural third-round selection in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.

The Revolution will retain the rights to Kansas City’s international roster spot until Jan. 1, 2011. Further details of the trade were not released.

“Obtaining an additional international roster spot gives us the roster freedom to sign an international player,” Revolution Vice President of Player Personnel Michael Burns said. “This move gives us more leeway to sign a player now.”

The Revolution now has eight international roster slots. The team entered the 2009 season with seven spots after trading one to Toronto FC in June 2008 in exchange for midfielder Pat Phelan.

New England currently has seven international players on the roster: Stephane Assengue (Cameroon), Gabriel Badilla (Costa Rica), Mauricio Castro (Honduras), Kheli Dube (Zimbabwe), Kenny Mansally (Gambia), Sainey Nyassi (Gambia) and Emmanuel Osei (Ghana).

The Revolution, which will travel to Los Angeles to face the Galaxy at The Home Depot Center this Saturday, is currently 4-4-4 overall and has advanced to the semifinals of SuperLiga 2009, the annual competition between top club teams from the U.S. and Mexico.

New England is the defending champion of the event and will host a special semifinal doubleheader at Gillette Stadium Wednesday, July 15. The Revs will face the rival Chicago Fire in the first game, followed by a clash of two Mexican clubs, UNAL Tigres and Santos Laguna. Kickoff times are TBA.