D.C. United sign 15-year-old Homegrown defender Matai Akinmboni

WASHINGTON, DC – D.C. United have signed Academy defender Matai Akinmboni to a Homegrown contract through 2025 with options in 2026 and 2027.

Akinmboni joins Ted Ku-DiPietro, Jacob Greene, Jeremy Garay, Bill Hamid, Donovan Pines, and Jackson Hopkins on the list of Homegrown Players on the current roster. United has also just announced the Homegrown signing of 17-year-old winger Kristian Fletcher.

“Matai has shown his quality as a player with the Academy and Loudoun United this season,” Lucy Rushton, D.C. United General Manager, said. “He’s mature beyond his years and has a great future ahead of him as a player. He’s physically gifted with impressive defensive intuition. He immediately caught the eye of Wayne [Rooney] and we’re excited to see him continue to develop with the first team.”

Akinmboni signed an Academy contract with Loudoun United FC in the United Soccer League (USL) Championship this season and made his professional debut on March 26, 2022 as an 86th-minute substitute against Miami FC in a 0-0 tie. Since making his debut, Akinmboni has made four appearances this season for the Red-and-White.

“Matai has been in our Academy for a number of years and has shown a great amount of progress as a player in the last year,” Stewart Mairs, Loudoun United General Manager, said. “Since signing an academy contract with Loudoun United, Matai has consistently impressed us with his maturity and ability as a defender. As a player who has been in the Academy system since such a young age, this is a huge accomplishment for the club to sign him to a professional contract.”

The 15-year-old earned his first call-up for the United States U-17 Men’s Youth National Team earlier this month and hopes to make his debut during the upcoming friendly matches.

Matai Akinmboni

Position: Defender
Birthplace: Annapolis, Md.
Country: United States
Birthdate: 10/17/2006
Age: 15
Height: 6’ 3’’
Weight: 170 lbs
Status: Homegrown
Transaction: D.C. United sign Matai Akinmboni to a Homegrown contract through 2025 with options in 2026 and 2027