KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sporting Kansas City has signed 15-year-old midfielder Zamir Royo Reynaga, putting him on track to make his MLS debut in 2027.
Under his MLS Next Pro contract, Royo Reinaga will move to Sporting KC II this season and is likely to join the first team next year. His contract runs through the 2030-31 season, with a club option for the 2031-32 season.
“We are pleased that Zamir has decided to become a professional player at such a young age,” said President of Soccer Operations and General Manager David Lee. “When I arrived at the club, I wanted to assess the talent that existed within our system, and from his performances last season as a 14-year-old, it quickly became clear that we had a player with special talent and high potential in Zamir.”
Royo Reinaga became the youngest player in franchise history to make his debut with SKC II on September 28, 2025, at the age of 14 years and 251 days, and spent part of the 2026 preseason with Sporting KC’s first team.
He first joined the SKC Academy in 2023 and played for the U-14 team in the Kronos Cup in December of that year.
Internationally, Royo Reinaga has represented the United States and Mexico in youth competitions. He attended camp with the U.S. U14 national team last April and represented the Mexico U15 team in July. He most recently joined the U.S. Under-15 National Team at its domestic training camp in September and is scheduled to rejoin the team at its training camp in Cyprus later this month.
“Today is a day of celebration for Zamir, his family and the club, but our efforts to maximize Zamir’s potential and reach the highest level will continue immediately,” Lee said. “A player’s development is not linear and our role is to support Zamir’s next stage of development, step by step, through a humble, hard-working and dedicated approach.”
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