FRISCO, Texas (March 8, 2024) – FC Dallas announced today that goalkeeper Maarten Paes along with midfielders Alan Velasco and Katlego "Tsiki" Ntsabeleng have obtained U.S. Green Cards, granting them permanent resident status in the United States.
With permanent resident status, Paes, Velasco and Ntsabeleng will no longer occupy international slots on the club’s roster.
Paes led MLS with a 76.4% save percentage in 2023. The 25-year-old joined Dallas on a permanent transfer on June 28, 2022 after joining FCD on loan in January 2022. Since then, Paes has registered 72 matches played, keeping 17 clean sheets across all competitions.
In 2023, Velasco topped Major League Soccer’s 22-Under-22 list. That season, he featured in 28 MLS regular season matches, netting four goals and providing four assists. The midfielder received his first national team call-up with Argentina, scoring in a closed door friendly with the Argentina U23 squad against the Bolivia U23 national team on September 4, 2023.
In his first two MLS seasons, Ntsabeleng saw action in 48 games, scoring one goal and adding four assists in 1,436 minutes. The South African midfielder will be available for selection for FC Dallas’ match against the New York Red Bulls this Saturday, March 8.
