ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico United announced on Tuesday the club had signed defender Zico Bailey, pending league and federation approval. Bailey joins United after successful spells with FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer and San Antonio FC of USL Championship.

Bailey made his USL Championship debut in 2017 for the LA Galaxy II as a USL Academy signing, and subsequently attended Cal State Fullerton before joining the professional ranks in Scandinavia. The 22-year-old competed for Danish second division club FC Helsingor before returning to the United States in 2019 to join FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer, where he made 19 appearances in the top flight.

Earlier this year he signed with San Antonio FC and made 11 appearances in the Championship, recording one goal and one assist in 668 minutes of action.

"We are very excited to welcome Zico to the New Mexico United family," said United Sporting Director Itamar Keinan. "We have been monitoring Zico for some time, so when the opportunity arose to bring him on board, we knew we wanted to do it. His talent, skill, speed, and dedication are unquestioned, and we believe he can have an immediate impact. We can't wait to get Zico onto the pitch and into our community.”

Bailey was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and has represented the United States National Team at the youth level.