Sporting Kansas City has signed 25-year-old defensive midfielder Soni Mustivar, the club announced on Friday. Mustivar will occupy an international roster spot on the team's roster for the 2015 season pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa.
“We are always looking to add quality players to our team and we feel as if we have done that with the addition of Soni,” Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said. “I believe that once he gets acclimated to the way we play, there are some special qualities in his game that will become very apparent. I don't think it will take too long for him to adjust to our team because he just played the entire fall season with his previous club. All in all, I think he will be a good addition for us and I think it will be demonstrated over time.”
Mustivar has made six international appearances for the Haiti Men’s National Team. He most recently played in three matches at the 2014 CFU Caribbean Cup in November to help Haiti secure a third place finish and qualify for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“I am very excited to join Sporting Kansas City,” Mustivar said. “This is a great team with great fans. I am going to work hard from day one to contribute to the team any way I can.”
Prior to making his international debut with Haiti in 2013, Mustivar was a youth international in the French national team system. He represented France at the under-20 level during the 2009 Mediterranean Games, and he holds dual citizenship in both France and Haiti.
Mustivar began his professional career as a teenager with SC Bastia in France’s Ligue 2 during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. He made 22 league appearances over two seasons, in addition to two appearances in the French League Cup and an appearance in the French Cup.
Following a loan spell at US Orleans (France), Mustivar moved to FC Petrolul Ploiesti and has played each of the past three seasons in Romania’s Liga I. He recorded 61 appearances with two goals in league competition, while also earning eight appearances in the UEFA Europa League. In addition, he started in Petrolul’s triumph in the 2012-13 Romanian Cup Final and captained the squad in the 2013 Romanian Supercup against Liga I champions Steaua Bucuresti.
Sporting Kansas City will kick off the team's 20th season on March 8 at Sporting Park in a nationally televised match against the New York Red Bulls at 6 p.m. CT on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes. Single-game tickets are now on sale via Ticketmaster.com for the club's first 10 of 17 regular season home matches in 2015 while supplies last.
VITALS
Soni Mustivar (sohn-EE moo-stuh-VAR)
Position: Midfielder
Number: TBD
Born: 2/12/1990
Height: 5-10
Weight: 170
Hometown: Aubervilliers, France
Birthplace: Ivry Sur Seine, France
Citizenship: France, Haiti
Last Club: Petrolul (Romania)
Twitter: @billydougie
Instagram: sonimustivar
Facebook: soni.mustivar
