On Wednesday, a teenager created sports history by becoming the youngest athlete to make his regular-season debut in the major professional sports leagues of North America at the age of 14 years and 293 days.
On July 17, soccer player Cavan Sullivan marked his highly anticipated Major League Soccer (MLS) debut by taking to the field for Philadelphia Union. Sullivan displayed his exceptional skills, contributing to his team’s impressive 5-1 victory against the New England Revolution, reported CNN Sports.
“Really, really happy to have done this, but honestly, it’s the first box checked off – so long journey ahead,” Sullivan told reporters, per CNN.
“I know it’s all about where you finish, not where you start, so I am just going to keep working, keep developing here. So my main focus is on Philadelphia and our season ahead,” he added.
Here is more of the story from CNN Sports:
The midfielder made history, becoming the youngest player to make his regular-season debut among the top North American professional sports leagues (MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, NWSL and WNBA) at 14 years and 293 days old.
Freddy Adu previously held the mark for the youngest player to debut in the MLS, who made his debut for DC United in 2004 at 14 years and 306 days old.
Adu gave his congratulations to Sullivan for breaking his record in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Big congrats to Cavan Sullivan for his record breaking debut today,” Adu wrote. “That’s a hard record to break and the kid did it. Well done and good luck my man.”
Sullivan subbed on in the 85th minute and got cheers from the crowd on hand at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Sullivan, along with his older brother Quinn and the rest of his family, all posed for a picture on the field after the game. Quinn, who is a 20-year-old midfielder on the Union, scored in the 84th minute.
The Union, who currently sit last place in the Eastern Conference, got their fifth win of the season.
After the match, the younger Sullivan said that “this was just the start” when asked about the debut and his future in professional soccer.