FC Dallas announced Monday an affiliation with USL PRO side Arizona United SC for the 2015 season.
The agreement allows FCD to send younger players on loan to Arizona United SC throughout the 2015 season, with the ability to recall them at any time.
“This agreement is a key step in fostering the development of our academy and reserve players,” FC Dallas president Dan Hunt said in a team release. “FC Dallas has one of the top academies in North America. We have signed the most players from our youth academy in league history. This initiative now allows FC Dallas to accelerate the improvement of those young players.”
Coached by former FC Dallas defender Michael Dellorusso, Arizona United finished their inaugural campaign with a 10-13-5 record in 2014. The team’s leading scorer last season was FC Dallas Homegrown player Jonathan Top, who joined the team on loan in April, played 1,224 minutes, and scored five goals with two assists, but had his option declined by Dallas at the end of the year.
“This is a big opportunity for us at FC Dallas,” FC Dallas technical director Fernando Clavijo said. “This alliance will allow us to give minutes to many players on our roster that, either for lack of experience or injuries, don’t have the opportunity to get substantial minutes with our first team.”
