Havana, Jan 14 (IANS): Cuban soccer players Abel Martinez and Maykel Reyes officially signed for Mexican club Cruz Azul on Wednesday here.

Centre forward Martinez joined Cruz Azul Hidalgo and striker Reyes joined Cruz Azul Premier. Both teams feature in Mexico's second division, Xinhua news agency reported.

During the signing ceremony, Cesar Varela, the Mexican club's attorney general, said the contracts are for one year. "We will be closely following them to see if either of them present skills to merit moving them to the first division," said Varela.

The President of Football Association of Cuba (AFC), Luis Hernandez, said this is the first time that soccer players from the Caribbean island will join a foreign league.

Martinez and Reyes, both 22-years-old, are scheduled to travel to Mexico on Thursday to join their respective teams where they will play in the clubs pre-season matches ahead of the Clausura 2016 tournament.

The AFC hopes more Cuban players will join the ranks of foreign clubs to help raise the standard of Cuban soccer.