D.C. United signal academy product Matai Akinmboni

D.C. United have signed academy product Matai Akinmboni to a Homegrown contract by 2025 with membership choices in 2026 and 2027. 

Akinmboni now joins Ted Ku-DiPietro, Jacob Greene, Jeremy Garay, Invoice Hamid, Donovan Pines, and Jackson Hopkins on the record of Homegrown Gamers on the present roster.

“Matai has proven his high quality as a participant with the Academy and Loudoun United this season,” Lucy Rushton, D.C. United Basic Supervisor, stated.

“He’s mature past his years and has an ideal future forward of him as a participant. He’s bodily gifted with spectacular defensive instinct. He instantly caught the attention of Wayne [Rooney] and we’re excited to see him proceed to develop with the primary group.”

Akinmboni joined the Academy earlier than signing knowledgeable contract with Loudoun United FC within the United Soccer League (USL) Championship this season. He made his debut on March 26, and has since racked up 4 appearances for the Crimson-and-White.

“Matai has been in our Academy for quite a lot of years and has proven a large amount of progress as a participant within the final yr,” Stewart Mairs, Loudoun United Basic Supervisor, stated. 

“Since signing an academy contract with Loudoun United, Matai has persistently impressed us together with his maturity and skill as a defender. As a participant who has been within the Academy system since such a younger age, this can be a big accomplishment for the membership to signal him to knowledgeable contract.”

He joins D.C. United as the most recent younger prospect, forming a part of head coach Wayne Rooney’s plan to overtake the roster. The group sits final on the Jap Convention desk after a turbulent 2022 marketing campaign that noticed head coach Hernan Losada fired solely eight weeks into the season, a number of accidents have an effect on the roster and the addition of Wayne Rooney.