Swope Park Rangers defender Jaylin Lindsey has been called in to the U.S. Under-17 National Team for the AIFF Youth Cup held in Goa, India. During the competition, which will run from May 11-26, the U.S. will face Tanzania (May 15), India (May 19), South Korea (May 21) and Malaysia (May 23), with the third place match and final taking place on May 25.
Lindsey, who is one of 23 players on the U.S. roster, signed with the Swope Park Rangers on an academy contract on May 6, before making his professional debut a day later against Saint Louis FC at WWT Soccer Park. In doing so, the 16-year-old became the first American player with a birth year of 2000 or later to play in a professional game.
The Charlotte, N.C. native joined the Sporting KC Academy in early 2015 and has made 24 appearances across the last two seasons between the Under-18s and Under-16s. Since the start of 2016, Lindsey has spent significant time training with both the Swope Park Rangers and Sporting Kansas City.
Lindsey has been a part of the U.S. Youth National Team setup since 2013, when he was called in to the U.S. Under-14s for the first of five eventual training camps with the team. He was called in to the U.S. Under-15s for the first time in December 2014 before solidifying his presence on the squad with three additional inclusions the following year – winning the Italian Tournament delle Nazioni in the process.
In late 2015, Lindsey was called in to his first U.S. Under-17 camp as a 15-year-old, making three appearances at the Nike International Friendlies in Florida, logging minutes against England, the Netherlands and Brazil. His most recent National Team minutes came with the U-17s at the 2016 Mercedes-Benz Aegean Cup in Turkey, where he made appearances against Turkey and Romania.
The Swope Park Rangers are back in action on Saturday when they host Tulsa Roughnecks FC at Swope Soccer Village, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets starting as low as $12 are available via the Rangers’ Ticketmaster page, by calling 888-4KC-GOAL or at the box office on gameday.
