Atlanta United has secured green cards for international players Kenwyne Jones and Chris McCann, easing part of its problem with having too many international players and not enough roster slots available. Rosters must be finalized by Wednesday.
The team has signed 13 players who are natives of non-U.S. countries. It has nine international slots available on its roster.
It loaned Jeffrey Otoo (Ghana) to Charleston, its USL affiliate. Along with the green cards for Jones (Trinidad and Tobago) and McCann (Ireland), the number of international players is reduced from from 13 to 10.
There are options for the team to reach nine players for nine slots. Atlanta United can loan any of its other international players to the Battery. Or it can trade for a slot with another MLS team.
Jones and McCann didn’t participate in the final two preseason games in last week’s Carolina Challenge Cup because they were applying for the green cards.
The team will open its regular season on Sunday against New York Red Bulls at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium.
