News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Feb. 16, 2018: Millions of Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status recipients and undocumented immigrants desperately want what he has. But a Jamaican-born striker with the Atlanta United MLS club has bagged a green card.
Forward Romario Williams, of Portmore, Jamaica, will no longer have to occupy an international player roster spot, club officials announced Monday.
The former No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Central Florida, secured permanent residency thanks to a sponsorship from the club.
Williams, 23, joined Atlanta from the Montreal Impact in 2016. He played the entire 2016 and 2017 seasons on loan with the Charleston Battery where he was the club’s leading scorer both seasons and was named to the USL Second Team in 2017.
The Atlanta United loanee scored 15 goals and added three assists in 22 appearances, averaging a goal every 114.3 minutes. During the 2017 season, Williams earned Team of the Week honors four times and won Player of the Month in June.
On Saturday, Feb. 10th, Williams made his Atlanta United debut against Nashville SC and scored in the 78th minute during a 3-1 win.
Williams has also represented the Jamaica National Team at the U17, U23 and senior team levels, where he debuted in 2016 and now has seven appearances.
The green card of course represents an immigration status of a person to be authorized to live and work permanently in the United States. It is important for soccer players because it changes the classification of the player within MLS from International to Domestic.
Williams made no comment in the team’s official press statement nor on Twitter. Instead, he posted a photo Tuesday of him fist pounding with another player as they were all smiles and asked fans to “caption this.”
ABOUT ATLANTA UNITED
Atlanta United FC began play in 2017 as a member of the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. The club, which was announced by the league as an expansion franchise on April 16, 2014, is owned and operated by Home Depot co-founder and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. The team plays their home matches at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
