Former US Under-17 international Mobi Fehr, who signed with MLS on Nov. 14, will be allocated to one of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders or San Jose Earthquakes via weighted lottery on Tuesday at 7 am ET.
Fehr, an 18-year-old defender who starred for Wilmer Cabrera's US Under-17 national team at the 2011 U-17 World Cup in Mexico, comes from a unique background – he was born in New York, but also holds Japanese and Swiss citizenship through his parents. He moved to Tokyo with his family at the age of six and came up through the youth ranks of Japanese outfit Tokyo Verdy before enjoying a short stint at Swiss powerhouse FC Basel.
According to MLS roster rules, players eligible for the weighted lottery are: "Generation adidas players signed after the MLS SuperDraft or draft eligible players to whom an MLS contract was offered but who failed to sign with the League prior to the Draft."
The Timbers are strong favorites to win the lottery with an 83.1 percent chance to land Fehr, who trained with the club for three weeks in October and November. The rules for the lottery state, "The team with the worst record over its last 34 regular-season games (dating back to previous season if necessary and taking playoff performance into account) will have the greatest probability of winning the lottery."
Seattle have a 15.5 percent chance of landing Fehr, while San Jose, the 2012 Supporters' Shield winners, have just a 1.4 percent chance. No other team opted to enter the lottery.
A team that acquires a player via weighted lottery may not do so again in the same season unless all teams have acquired a player via weighted lottery or waived their option to participate in the lottery. In Fehr's case, the lottery will count for the upcoming 2013 season. That allows the Earthquakes, who won a weighted lottery for forward Marcus Tracy on Sept. 13, to be eligible for the Fehr lottery.
