By Ben Nicholson
January 14 – MLS club FC Dallas has announced that it has agreed to a two-year affiliation with USL club Oklahoma City Energy FC.
As part of the agreement FC Dallas will be able to loan their players to the USL, and recall them at any time, giving fringe players the ability to gain first-team experience without sacrificing the depth of the club’s available roster.
Player development has proven an important part of FC Dallas’ model. To date, 14 ‘Homegrown’ players, meaning a player signed from the club’s development academy directly to the first team roster, have been signed to the team.
In 2015 FC Dallas ranked highest among MLS teams for Homegrown player minutes played. They also set an MLS record for having the most amount of Homegrown players starting in a game, which occurred in 2015 during a 3-0 victory over Columbus Crew SC.
FC Dallas technical director, Fernando Clavijo, stated: “Every time you have the opportunity to surround yourself with good people and a good franchise, it’s always a plus. We were looking at opportunities early on in the year to keep doing better. Finding the partnership with Oklahoma City Energy FC was a big plus for us. Being able to drive is a plus. [They are] only three hours away. But I also saw the quality of the individuals. The quality of the franchise helped us make the decision.”
Oklahoma City Energy FC co-owner, Bob Funk Jr, said: “We are pleased to affiliate with FC Dallas. As a founding member of MLS, FC Dallas has proven to be innovative in their approach to business and to growing the sport of soccer under a single banner in their community. In addition to learning from their business department, our on-field product can improve with the quality players that FC Dallas will offer to our organization.”
FC Dallas were formerly affiliated with Arizona United SC, but the partnership ended in 2015 for the cited reason that it was too difficult for FC Dallas personnel to watch the progress of loaned players. Oklahoma City Energy FC were affiliated with Sporting Kansas City until October of 2015.
Oklahoma City Energy FC also recently announced it is creating a team to join the PDL, an amateur league that attracts college age talent.
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