The Canadian men’s national team announced a major piece of player news on Friday, revealing that defender Ricardo Ferreira has successfully filed a one-time switch with FIFA to represent Canada internationally.

The 28-year-old centre-back was born in Mississauga, Ont., but he had previously been involved only with the Portuguese national team setup. He has a number of appearances for Portugal at various youth levels, as well as one cap for the senior team in a 2017 match against the United States, but he has now switched allegiances to his birth nation for the future of his international career.

Ferreira currently plays for Farense in the Portuguese topflight, having spent time previously with Braga, as well as AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A, among other clubs in those two countries.

Although he initially began his youth football career in Ontario, with stops at Brampton YSC and the Toronto FC academy, he transferred to FC Porto’s academy at age 15, before ultimately moving to Milan’s youth setup.

The six-foot-three centre-back has a total of 84 professional games played in Europe, including 66 in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.

“We have worked hard to build the trust in Canada Soccer’s men’s national team program through our performances on the field and work off the field,” men’s team coach John Herdman said in a statement. “Ricardo Ferreira is a modern centre-back who has played at good levels in Europe, so we look forward to adding his experience to the men’s national team program in 2021.”

Ferreira is the latest in a recent slew of dual-national players who have chosen to represent Canada, joining the likes of Theo Corbeanu, Stephen Eustáquio, and Cristián Gutiérrez. He will now be able to join the Canadian men’s team for what’s likely to be an extremely busy 2021, with FIFA World Cup qualifiers beginning in March and the Concacaf Gold Cup kicking off in the summer.