FC Cincinnati sign 17-year-old Andrei Chirila as Homegrown Player

CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati have signed FC Cincinnati 2 defender Andrei Chirila as a Homegrown Player on a contract through the 2028-29 Major League Soccer season, with an option through the 2029-30 season.

Chirila, 17, becomes the third player in club history – following his brother Stefan Chirila and Ademar Chávez – to follow the player pathway from the FC Cincinnati Academy to an MLS NEXT Pro contract with FC Cincinnati 2 to then sign a first-team MLS contract.

Chirila becomes the tenth former FC Cincinnati Academy product to sign a first-team contract with the club (Sunderland, Ordoñez, Robledo, Jimenez, Pinto, Walters, Valenzuela, S. Chirila, Chávez), the ninth as a Homegrown Player.

The 6-foot-3-inch center back has earned four short-term call-ups early in the 2026 season. He has already made three appearances with the first team, starting and going the full 90 minutes in each of his outings. The 17-year-old became the youngest player in club history to start an MLS match in his most recent first-team appearance on Sunday, March 15 at New England Revolution.

Chirila has already been named to two U.S. U-18 Youth National Team rosters in 2026. Most recently he made two appearances for the USYNT U18s in the March FIFA International Window, starting in a 2-1 win over Iceland and a 1-1 draw at Portugal.

Last summer, Chirila was selected to the 2025 MLS NEXT All-Star Game. He has made 28 appearances for FC Cincinnati 2 in MLS NEXT Pro play over parts of the past two seasons.

TRANSACTION: On April 2, 2026, FC Cincinnati sign Andrei Chirila as a Homegrown Player through the 2028-29 Major League Soccer season, with an option through the 2029-30 season

#88 ANDREI CHIRILA
Pronunciation: ON-dray chur-ILL-uh
Position: Defender
Height: 6’ 3”
Birthdate: August 15, 2008 (17)
Birthplace: Allentown, Penn., USA