Puerto Rico FC Signs Chris Nurse, Ramon Soria

Puerto Rico Football Club announced Friday that defender Ramon Soria and midfielder Chris Nurse will join the club for its inauguralseason.

"We at Puerto Rico FC are all happy that Chris Nurse will be joining our team," Puerto Rico FC coach Adrian Whitbread said. "He is a born winner who has captained his country in World Cup qualifiers and other major competitions. He has a wealth of experience and has won several championships in his career, while being a true leader both on and off the field."

Whitbread added: "Ramon is a player we are very excited to add to our roster. He has appeared for his native Spain at the youth level, and played as a professional at a high level in Spain and in the NASL. He is very strong technically, and can play in a number of positions which will prove invaluable in our upcoming season."

Soria, 26, joins Puerto Rico FC from Slovenian club Celje. He was outstanding in 2015 at center back for Celje, which included performances in Europa League matches. Known for his defensive smarts and his cultured left foot, he can lean on his six years of top-level soccer education in the Villarreal Academy. 

Soria was a regular starter at the youth level for Spain during that time and starred in the 2006 U-17European Championships in Luxembourg. In 2014, he played regularly in Ottawa Fury FC’s inaugural season in the NASL, and his experience will be vital as Puerto Rico FC start out in 2016.

Nurse is a player well known to Puerto Rico as he had  success during his previous spells. He has twice been a champion at this level, and also was a runner up in the NASL Final with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 2014. 

While playing for FC Edmonton, he not only was voted team MVP by his peers, and Nurse was named the NASL Humanitarian of the Year award during his time with the Strikers for his non-stop efforts in raising funds in support of breast cancer awareness. In addition to his club success, he has amassed 47 appearances for Guyana, serving as captain for many of those matches. 

"On behalf of the entire Puerto Rico Football Club organization, we would like to welcome Ramon and Chris to the team, Puerto Rico FC President Tom Payne said. "We want to field the best squad possible in our inaugural season, and these very successful veteran players will both be major assets to our team as we strive to make the playoffs in 2016. We look forward to seeing them both very soon, and to their PRFC debut in July."