Cavan Sullivan, 14, has been selected for the Philadelphia Union's roster for Wednesday's Major League Soccer match against the New England Revolution.
If Sullivan plays, he will become the youngest player in MLS history at 14 years and 293 days, breaking a league record that had stood for more than 20 years.
He will break the record held by former United States international Freddy Adu, who was 14 years and 306 days old when he made his DC United debut against the San Jose Earthquakes in April 2004.
“He'll be in the 20-man tomorrow. He deserves it. You look at his performance in the Union II game and the goals he scored, Cavan deserves it,” Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin said.
“The next step is to work to get those first minutes. It could be one minute, it could be 15 minutes, it could be 90 minutes, but you have to earn it.”
Philadelphia announced in May that it had signed U.S. youth international Sullivan to an MLS-record contract.
Athletic Philadelphia reported that they had reached an agreement with Sullivan to sign him to the richest homegrown player contract in MLS history.
He became the youngest player in Philadelphia history to join the first-team roster and the fifth-youngest player ever to sign a first-team contract in MLS.
Sullivan is set to move to Manchester City when he turns 18, the first time such a deal has been included in a player's first MLS contract.
“Cavan is undoubtedly a rare and exceptional talent. Though he is only 14 years old, his natural skill and vision far exceed his years,” Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said after the signing.
“His excellent football IQ and ability to read the play, progress the ball and score shows just how much potential he has. We are extremely pleased that Cavan has agreed to join the Union on his first professional contract and have no doubt about the impact he will make to the club.”
The midfielder made his professional debut for the Union's second team in March and provided a match-winning assist while coming off the bench in MLS NextPro, MLS' development league.
He led the U.S. under-15 team to the 2023 CONCACAF U-15 Championship title and won the Golden Ball award given to the tournament's best player.
(Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
