Cavan Sullivan becomes the youngest player to debut in any American professional league

The young promise of American soccer, midfielder Cavan Sullivan, made history this Wednesday when he debuted with the Philadelphia Union first team in the 5-1 win over the New England Revolution at just 14 years and 293 days, thus becoming the youngest to debut in any professional discipline of American soccer.

Sullivan set the record after entering the field in the 85th minute, just seconds after his brother Quinn Sullivan, who also plays for the Philadelphia Union, scored the decisive goal in the 5-1 rout.

He thus became the youngest player in the history of any American league, including the MLB, NBA, WNBA, NHL, NWSL and, obviously, the MLS.

In fact, the record for the youngest player to debut in the top flight of American soccer belonged to Freddy Adu, who made his debut at 14 years and 306 days, but ended up retiring at an early age after failing to demonstrate what was expected of him.

It is worth noting that professional leagues in the United States have age restrictions, but this is not the case in the MLS and NWSL.

Cavan Sullivan’s debut came just a few weeks after he signed his first professional contract with Philadelphia Union last May until 2028, the year in which he will leave for England to join Manchester City as dictated by one of the clauses in the negotiation.

Watch Cavan Sullivan’s debut here:

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