El Paso Locomotive FC signed Forward Christiano François for the 2022 USL Championship season, the club announced today, pending league and federation approval. The Haitian International comes to El Paso following an outstanding year with Miami FC where he helped lead the club to it’s first-ever USL Championship Playoff appearance.
“We identified Christiano [François] very early as someone we wanted to bring to El Paso,” stated Head Coach and Technical Director, John Hutchinson. “His USL Championship record for goals and assists has been very good and his work rate away from the ball is exactly what need. He will add competition to an already competitive squad. We cannot wait to see what he brings to the team this season.”
François, 28, continues the trend of widening El Paso Locomotive’s attacking threat while adding a dangerous sting in the final third. The natural right winger most recently played in Florida with the Miami FC, where he championed the team’s attack as the club’s Golden Boot winner, recording 11 goals and six assists to lift the club to its first USL Championship post season appearance. Prior to Miami, François earned a 2020 USL Championship All-League Second Team nod after finding six goals and seven assists to help Reno 1868 FC finish the Championship’s regular season with the best overall record and a second Western Conference Semifinal appearance in club history.
François’ Championship pedigree extends further, having joined the league in 2017 with Rochester Rhinos where he reach the Conference Semifinals with one goal and seven assists in only 12 regular season matches. In 2018, he reached the Eastern Conference playoffs with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC behind four goals and five assists in 32 matches before finding nine goals and seven assists in 35 matches with Ottaway Fury in 2019.
Aside from his extensive USL Championship career, François played two seasons in Portugal, playing for Vila Real and Felgueiras 1932, recording four goals over 40 appearances across the two teams. Additionally, François has been called to represent club and country with the Haitian National Team, making three appearances in his home country’s colors.
Player Information
Name: Christiano François
Pronunciation: Chris-TEE-ahno Fran-swah
Position: Forward
DOB: July 17, 1993
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 165 lbs.
Hometown: Cabaret, Haiti
Last club: The Miami FC
El Paso Locomotive FC’s roster as it currently stands for the 2022 USL Championship season is below, listed alphabetically by position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Philipp Beigl, Evan Newton
DEFENDERS (6): Matt Bahner, Eder Borelli, Harry Brockbank, Andrew Fox, Martín Payares, Yuma
MIDFIELDERS (8): Eric Calvillo, Chapa Herrera, Nick Hinds, Diego Luna, Dylan Mares, Richie Ryan, Emmanuel Sonupé, Sebástian Velásquez
FORWARDS (4): Christiano François, Aaron Gomez, Luis Solignac, Ricardo Zacarias
El Paso Locomotive FC returns to Southwest University Park for the first time since October on March 19 for its Home Opener against New Mexico United. Tickets are available for purchase now online at https://www.eplocomotivefc.com/tickets or by calling 915-235-GOAL. Los Locos will kick off its 2022 USL Championship season on the road against Sacramento Republic on March 12 with a match that will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can lock in their seats for the full 2022 Locomotive season by securing their Season Ticket Memberships at https://www.eplocomotivefc.com/seasontickets.