Tonight, Charlotte FC will celebrate Juneteenth National Independence Day during their match against Orlando City SC, with themes of honoring Black excellence and highlighting barrier breakers. According to the club, “We celebrate those in the past who paved the way before us, those in the present who are working to uplift others, and those in the future who will continue to forge new paths and reach greater heights of excellence.”
It’s an important message, because members of Charlotte FC are still fighting racism to this day, even as teenagers.
Standing up to Racism in Soccer
The Generation adidas Cup - MLS’s showcase youth tournament - doesn’t typically make headlines. The GA Cup is meant to be a place where teams from the league’s soccer academies and MLS NEXT have a chance to compete with young players from across the world.
This year, the tournament was marred by racial slurs directed at youth players, causing NY Red Bulls academy players to withdraw and the club’s U-17 players to release the following statement:
What has happened these past two games is completely inappropriate and has changed our team forever. The extreme lack of action taken by the league is unacceptable and has left a feeling of untrust and uncertainty in our safety and wellbeing while playing in this event and our games back home. We hope this situation will bring light to an ongoing problem in the game of football and in our world.
Players from other academy and MLS NEXT teams, including Charlotte FC’s U-15 and U-17 academy teams, quickly organized to protest the treatment of the Red Bulls academy players by wearing red wristbands to take a stand against racism in soccer.
One of those players was James Nyandjo (KNEE-ann-joe), a defender and member of the Charlotte FC Academy’s U-17 team and the brother of Crown Legacy FC forward Jonathan “Jono” Nyandjo.
“I remember finding about about [the incident] … and we actually had a little team talk about how we would react if anything like that happened to our teammates,” said James. “We all agreed the same that whatever way we react, we wanted to make sure that the person it happens to feels supported, and so it was a no-brainer to wear the wristband.”
For James, the incident also showed the strength of the Charlotte FC Academy’s commitment to Black players.
“Right after it happened, [U-17 coach Jason Osborne] pulled me aside, and he had a talk with me just about, if anything ever like that happened, that I could always come to him and talk to him about it,” said James. “As soon as he found out, he came and pulled people aside just to let us know they don’t condone those type of things.”
“There’s no roof for us.”
The Nyandjo brothers have been playing soccer in the Charlotte area ever since they were toddlers, with James recalling that both he and Jonathan started at three years old.
“Ever since I can remember, it’s been me and him playing soccer,” said the 17-year-old James. “I never really wanted to be anything else … I used to tell my teachers something different just to make them happy, but it was always soccer.”
They played in the field and went to trainings together, and both brothers found their own path to eventually play for the Charlotte FC organization.
Jonathan credits his family with giving him a competitive spirit and the ability to pursue his soccer dreams, from James pushing him to be better to competitive family games with cousins.
“Growing up in Charlotte was amazing,” said the 21-year-old Jonathan. “It’s a blessing growing up with another athlete. James is an incredible little brother.”
After graduating from North Mecklenburg High School, Jonathan played college soccer at UNC Charlotte for four years. In his last year with the 49ers, he earned first-team All-American, first-team All-East Region, first-team All-American Athletic Conference, and All-AAC Tournament honors as Charlotte went on to win the American Athletic Conference championship.
In a press release, Charlotte 49ers head coach Kevin Langan said Jonathan "had an incredible four seasons with us culminating in all his success last season both with the team and individually."
However, the success on the pitch didn’t translate to a professional career, at least not at first.
“I was eligible for the draft, but went undrafted,” said Jonathan. “But being from Charlotte, [Crown Legacy coach Jose Tavares] knew who I was.”
Tavares saw Jonathan play at Charlotte, and gave him a chance with Charlotte FC’s second team. Jonathan joined Crown Legacy after a successful preseason as a trialist with the club.
“It’s an amazing club. Everything is run professionally,” said Jonathan. “This season, I think we started off a little slow, but we’re winning games now. The ceiling is the … there’s no roof for us.”
Jonathan has enjoyed his experience at Crown Legacy FC this year, and has had two goals and an assist during the regular season. However, since reaching the professional level, Jonathan has had to adjust to a higher level of intensity and a much longer season.
“There has been more emphasis on being patient,” said Jonathan. “It’s just an adjustment, staying ready, being patient … the speed of play is way faster than what I’m used to.”
Despite the challenges, Jonathan’s goal this year is to improve his game as much as possible, and win the MLS NEXT Pro championship with Crown Legacy FC.
Hard-fought Victories
While 2024 is Jonathan’s first year with the Charlotte FC organization, James has been with the club since the beginning. Though both brothers played for the Charlotte Independence Academy, Jonathan was already in college when Charlotte FC opened its doors to James.
“I played for Charlotte Independence [Soccer Club] back before when I was playing U-13,” said James. “I got scouted in the first ever year for Charlotte FC for U-14, and since then I’ve been working up the ranks … it’s been a really good journey.”
James says he took his play more seriously when he made it to Charlotte FC’s U-15 academy squad.
“Especially seeing my brother put in that work, I saw what it was going to take,” said James.
Working with the Academy has given James significant opportunities to improve his game and play against some of the best youth players in the United States and abroad. Despite the incidents that marred the GA Cup, James appreciated the chance to play against international teams.
“It’s a good learning experience, because you’re playing the best teams in the country and the best teams in the world,” said James. “So it shows you what the level is if you want to make it to the next level.”
His hard work is helping him get to that level. In 2023, James was called up to the USYNT U-16 team, and he represented Charlotte FC in the 2nd Annual MLS NEXT All-Star Game. After a hard-fought 2024 season, James and the Charlotte FC U-17 team made the MLS NEXT playoffs and won their first game in the tournament 4-1.
“I’m just looking forward to showing people how much talent we have on this team,” said James. “I know what I’m capable of, and I know what my team’s capable of, so I just can’t wait to show others what we’re capable of and give a shock to the people that doubt us.”
Since he spoke to Soccer Sheet, James has continued to shock the doubters. Last night, after falling behind 2-0 to Inter Miami’s U-17 team, James’ squad came back to tie Miami 4-4 and win a penalty shootout to advance to the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
James and Charlotte FC’s U-17 team will play their MLS NEXT Cup semifinal match today in Murfreesboro, Tenn. before the first team takes the field at Bank of America Stadium tonight.
What Juneteenth Means
Last week, Soccer Sheet asked Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith about the club’s Juneteenth celebrations.
“I think you can see from where this football club stands, in the community already, in the program they put out, in the diversity [of the club], it’s an inclusive football club, and that’s one of the reasons I came here as well,” said Smith. “That’s really important to me, [that] the environment that you create is about everybody being equal. That’s why it’s important to support all these causes.”
Both James and Jonathan also told us what Juneteenth means to them personally, and why it’s important that MLS is celebrating the holiday.
“I think that’s really important,” said Jonathan. “Especially in a community like Charlotte where it’s a melting pot, and there’s a lot of races and a lot of cultures … especially with Black people and how far we’ve come so far, I think it’s important to acknowledge it and that people are aware of it.”
“[Juneteenth] is a chance to celebrate the culture and success [of] Black Americans,” said James. “It’s good to reflect on that and how far we’ve come.”
In a diverse league, Jonathan also sees Juneteenth as a way to educate other players about what makes the Black experience in the United States unique - especially in the South.
“Not everybody that’s Black is from the South,” said Jonathan. “You have to explain to [Black players from other countries], this is the culture here. It’s not always a bad thing, but it’s definitely something to be aware of and something to grow from … I think it’s important for me, being from the South and being Black, explaining to them what the history is.”
James and Jonathan also talked to me about how fans and supporters can be better allies and supporters.
“I’ve had conversations with people about how to react, and how I feel about that,” said James. “I think that if there’s an injustice that’s happening, it should be addressed.”
“Be open-minded and be supportive,” said Jonathan. “People have put in a struggle and good work for this to happen.”
“Be mindful what you say. You just want to be respectful to anyone no matter what,” said James. “You should just want to respect people so everyone can feel welcome … when you see other people saying things that aren’t inclusive to everyone, call them out on it.”
Excellent story on two aspiring players