The Los Angeles Galaxy today acquired United States Under-17 National Team forward Israel Sesay in a weighted lottery held at the Major League Soccer offices in New York City. The 16-year old, who was born in Sierra Leone, has been selected as a member of Major League Soccer's Generation adidas program, meaning that he will occupy one of the three available spots on the Galaxy's Developmental Roster and his salary will not count toward the club's salary budget.
"We are excited to have a player of Israel's potential joining the Galaxy," Paul Bravo, the Galaxy's Director of Soccer said. "We've been tracking him for the last 18 months and have been very impressed with him. Israel is a very talented player who has great pace, is good one-on-one player, and is someone that we see a lot of potential in."
Sesay, who will turn 17 next month, moved to the United States from his native Sierra Leone in 2001 at the age of 11, settling with his family in Gaithersburg, Md. Sesay, who goes by the nickname Izzy, played for local club team Bethesda Arsenal and joined U.S. Soccer's Residency Program in August 2006. He has played in 14 games with the U.S. Under-17 '90 age group since 2006, appearing in 14 games while making ten starts and collecting three assists.
"I have always said that it was my dream to become a professional soccer player and I am very pleased that my dream has now come true with the LA Galaxy," Sesay said. "The Galaxy are a club with great players like David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones and I look forward to having these players as my teammates."
Sesay's new team visit the Colorado Rapids on Sunday, August 26 at 4 p.m. (PT) at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in a game that can be seen live on FSN West. The Galaxy are back home on Wednesday night when they host Mexican champions Pachuca in the inaugural SuperLiga final. For more information or to order tickets, please call the Galaxy toll-free at 1-877-3-GALAXY or visit www.lagalaxy.com.
NAME: Israel Sesay
POSITION: Forward
HT: 5-7
WT: 140
DATE OF BIRTH: September 4, 1990 in Freetown, Sierra Leone
HOMETOWN: Gaithersburg, Md.
LAST CLUB: Bethesda Arsenal
NATIONALITY: U.S.A.
ROSTER DESIGNATION: Generation adidas
PRONUNCIATION: IS-ree-ul see-SAY
