Frisco, Texas (December 15, 2023) – FC Dallas has signed attacking midfielder Tomas Pondeka to a two-year contract with a club option for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Pondeka becomes the second open trialist to sign with FC Dallas. Pondeka spent the 2023 season with MLS NEXT Pro North Texas SC.
Pondeka participated in North Texas SC's 2023 open tryout and was also invited to NTSC's preseason training camp, where he scored in two of three preseason matches. Pondeka signed his first professional contract with North Texas SC on March 10, 2023.
Pondeka made his professional debut on March 27, 2023 in NTSC's 1-0 road win over LAFC 2, and on July 30, 2023 in NTSC's 4-0 home win over Timbers 2. He scored his first professional goal. Pondeka appeared in 23 games with North Texas, recording four goals and two assists. Pondeka becomes the 65th player in MLS NEXT Pro history to sign a long-term contract with the first team.
The 22-year-old from Lewisville, Texas, made his debut for the U.S. Men's National Futsal Team on March 3, 2020, against Slovakia. At the 2021 CONCACAF Futsal Championship, Pondeka won the Young Player of the Year Award presented by Scotiabank. During the tournament, he found the back of the net twice for the U.S. team, helping the U.S. qualify for the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania. Pondeka played in 17 games for the USMNT futsal team, scoring 6 goals.
Pondeka attended Flower Mound Marcus High School and played on the boys varsity soccer team from 2016 to 2020. He scored 18 goals in 45 games for the Marauders between his sophomore and junior years. In 2019, Pondeka was named an All-State All-American, which honors the top 250 high school boys and girls soccer players in the United States. Pondeka was named to the District 6-6A first team during the 2019 season.
With the addition of Pondeka, Dallas now has 28 players under contract for the 2024 season.
Goalkeeper (2): Antonio Carrera, Maarten Paes
Defenders (8): Herbert Endely, Marco Farfan, Sebastian Ibeaga, Giobane Jesus, Sam Junqua, Nolan Norris, Nkosi Tafari, Emma Tumasi
Midfielders (15): Eugene Ansah, Paul Arriola, Liam Fraser, Asier Illarramendi, Bernard Kamungo, Sebastian Leggett, Tsiki Ntsabelen, Isaiah Parker, Paxton Pomykal, Thomas Pondeka, Enes Sari, Tarik Scott, Dante Seeley, Alejandro Urzua, Alan Velasco.
FW (3): Jesus Ferreira, Jose Murat, Jesus Jimenez
Major League Soccer's calendar of offseason roster-building events is listed below.
MLS offseason roster structure:
Tuesday, December 12th: Year-End Waiver (4:00 p.m. Central Time)
Wednesday, December 13th: Free Agency Begins (12:00 PM Central Time)
Thursday, December 14: Re-Entry Draft Stage 1 (12:00 PM Central Time)
Tuesday, December 19: MLS SuperDraft 2024 hosted by Adidas (2:00 p.m. CT)
Thursday, December 21st: Re-Entry Draft Stage 2 (12:00 PM CT)
Transaction details
Full name: Thomas Pondeka
Pronunciation: TOE-mas pon-DEH-cah
Connect with Thomas: X | Instagram
Position: Midfielder or Winger
Date of birth: October 10, 2001 (22 years old)
Birthplace: Tucson, Arizona
Birthplace: Flower Mound, Texas
Nationality: American
Height: 5'9”
Weight: 170 lbs.
Last Club: North Texas SC
Language: English
TRADE: FC Dallas has signed offensive midfielder Tomas Pondeka to a two-year contract with club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
