York United FC can confirm the promotion of Jorge Villalpando to General Manager.

Appointed as the club's Sporting Director upon arrival in January, the 39-year-old has overseen an immensely successful scouting and recruitment drive.

His knowledge, insight and influence led to the club securing the services of a number of players for the 2024 season while his commitment to local communities and sourcing exciting young talent saw Villalpando conceive and execute the club's very first Pathway To Pro Scouting Combine in early June.

Villalpando continued to invest in the developmental side of the organization and with the appointment of Silviu Butnaru as Director of Scouting and Development the following month, further scrimmages were held to identify more local talent.

Ultimately, a number of young players signed contracts with the club shortly after: Lukas Pareja, Joshua Lopez, Anthony Umanzor and Finn Raible. Both Pareja and Lopez were handed their pro debuts in a Canadian Premier League clash with Forge FC at the end of September.

Under Villalpando's watch, The Nine Stripes also signed 16-year-old winger Shola Jimoh to an Exceptional Young Talent contract. What followed was a spectacular debut pro campaign for the teenager, resulting in 16 appearances across the entire season, four goals, two assists and a recent call-up to the CANMNT's training hub ahead of the Concacaf Nations League games against Suriname.

In his new role, Villalpando will manage the day-to-day aspects of the club, with particular emphasis on the playing and technical staff while continuing to influence the recruitment and scouting side if the organization.

A native of Mexico City, Villalpando spent 12 years in LigaMX as a goalkeeper, most notably across two stints and 158 appearances with Puebla FC. While still a player, he enrolled at one of Mexico's top colleges - Universidad del Distrito Federal - and gained a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. After retiring, he headed to Spain to earn his MBA in Sports Management from the European Sport Business School in Valencia. Between 2021 and 2023, he served as Head Coach of Coyotes Tlaxcala in Mexico's second tier.

"Jorge's commitment to the club has been exemplary since he's joined," says Ricardo Pasquel, President of York United FC.

"His work on the scouting and recruitment side, and how we've steadily built up our networking- locally, nationally and internationally - is clear for all to see. His ambition matches ours. He's a leader and wishes to push the club to the next level. We're excited to watch Jorge deliver in this elevated role and York United FC will continue to benefit greatly from his passion and expertise."