Junior Langston Fabiyi recently made his first team debut for the Major League Soccer club D.C. United in a game against some of the top Ghanaian players in the world.
On Oct. 12, D.C. United took on the Ghana Week DC Select Side in a heated matchup to decide who would claim the Capital City Africa Cup. The Ghanaian squad included a collection of players from the Ghana Premier League and some of the premier Ghanaian players from the U.S., while D.C. United looked to give some of their academy players like Fabiyi an opportunity to showcase their ability. “I had been told a couple days prior that I was going to play in the game along with some of my teammates, so we were really excited,” Fabiyi said.
Fabiyi was brought on around the 60-minute mark, giving him a solid 30 minutes to create an impact in the game. He was initially put on the right wing before being moved centrally for a short spell and eventually out to the left.
While subbed on, Fabiyi was lively, taking on defenders and working hard to win the ball back for his team. During his cameo off the bench, he also found himself in a couple of hopeful positions to score and was unlucky to finish the game without a goal.
The atmosphere of a filled Audi Stadium proved to be different than anything he had played in before. “It was my first time playing in front of thousands of people so it was definitely a different experience. It was crazy hearing all the fans cheer when I did a good move or a good pass,” Fabiyi said.
Juniors Kevin Sun and Shreyas Ganeshan attended the game to cheer on their friend and were extremely proud of his performance. “It was so inspirational to watch my friend play on the pitch. Watching him play was like watching your son, such pride after seeing all the commitments he makes pay off,” Sun said.
According to Ganeshan, the group of friends convinced the entire section they were in to participate in a chant of Fabiyi’s name. Their support did not go unnoticed by Fabiyi, who greatly appreciated the cheers he was getting from the crowd. “I was really grateful they came and them supporting me has definitely become a core memory. Them convincing the crowd to cheer my name was a crazy experience. It’s definitely something I’ll never forget,” Fabiyi said.
Fabiyi has been with the D.C. Academy for two years, and this opportunity was a huge step in his soccer career. “I joined D.C. United Academy at the start of high school, so my freshman year. I was 14 when I joined and it’s definitely been a journey for me,” Fabiyi said.
He has ambitious hopes for the future and is looking to cement his spot as a first team player for D.C. United. “I would like to be training with the first team in the near future and hopefully get my shot to make more appearances for the first team,” Fabiyi said.
