Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | October 17, 2006 | ||
Place of birth | Annapolis, Maryland, United States | ||
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) [1] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | D.C. United | ||
Number | 45 | ||
Youth career | |||
2021–2022 | D.C. United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
2022– | Loudoun United | 11 | (0) |
2022– | D.C. United | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 20, 2024 |
Matai Akinmboni (born October 17, 2006) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender for the Major League Soccer club D.C. United. [2]
Akinmboni is a central defender who plays for D.C. United's USL affiliate Loudoun United while training at the D.C. United Academy. [3] His first professional appearance was on March 27, 2022, coming on as a substitute in the last four minutes of a Loudoun match against The Miami FC. [4] Akinmboni trained for two weeks with the German football club FC Bayern Munich in 2021, and was reported to have received "contractual terms" [5] from the club, but ultimately did not join the team.
On August 31, 2022, Akinmboni was signed by D.C. United to a homegrown contract, which allowed him to join the first team. [2] On the same day, he was featured as part of the team's gameday roster against NYCFC, but ultimately was not called to take the field for that game. [6] Akinmboni's first appearance with D.C. United would come on September 10, 2022, when he was given a starting spot and played the entire first half of a match against Real Salt Lake that ended in a 0–0 draw. [7]
Akinmboni was born in the United States, but through his parentage, is also eligible to play for the senior teams of Nigeria or Ghana. [5] On August 16, 2022, he was called up to the United States men's national under-17 soccer team for their training camp. [8]
Akinmboni is the nephew of retired Ghanaian player Sammy Kuffour, who played in the center back position, and was part of the Ghana national football team and FC Bayern Munich [9]
Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Loudoun United | 2022 | USL | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
2023 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||||
Total | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||||
D.C. United | 2022 | MLS | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
2023 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
2024 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
Total | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
Career total | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |