FC Cincinnati Sign Midfielder Ademar Chávez as a Homegrown Player
MLS FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati Sign Midfielder Ademar Chávez as a Homegrown Player

Published on January 5, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


FC Cincinnati have signed FCC Academy and FC Cincinnati 2 midfielder Ademar Chávez as a Homegrown Player on a contract through December 2029, with an option through December 2030, the club announced today. The dynamic young midfielder had signed his first professional contract with FC Cincinnati 2 this past November.

"Ademar is a very talented, young player," said Chris Albright, FC Cincinnati General Manager. "He's shown great growth within our academy and has stood out at the MLS NEXT Pro level. We're proud of the work that he's put in to get to this point, and we're excited to watch him continue to develop."

Chávez, 16, becomes the fifth player in club history to follow the player pathway from the FC Cincinnati Academy to a NEXT Pro contract with FC Cincinnati 2 (Andrei Chirila, Daniel Martin, Kai Thomas), and the second player to then go on to sign an MLS contract with FC Cincinnati (Stefan Chirila).

As an FCC Academy player in 2025, Chávez made seven starts in 12 appearances for FC Cincinnati 2 this past season. He was a vital part of FCC 2's push to the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs as he started in the final four regular season games for the Orange and Blue as the team earned wins in all four games to clinch a postseason berth.

Chávez earned MLS NEXT Rising Star of the Matchweek and Team of the Matchweek honors in Matchweek 30 as he scored his first two professional goals in the 2-1 win over eventual MLS NEXT Pro Champions New York Red Bulls II on October 1.

The Bakersfield, California native joined the FC Cincinnati Academy from LAFC in 2024, and trained with the FC Cincinnati first-team squad in Clearwater last preseason. He spent over two weeks with Portuguese Primera Liga side S.L. Benfica this past summer, a stint that followed up his star performance in the 2025 MLS NEXT All-Star game, where he had an assist.

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

Chávez has also earned international call-ups at the youth national team level with both the United States and Mexico.

TRANSACTION: On January 5, 2026, FC Cincinnati sign Ademar Chávez as a Homegrown Player on a contract through December 2029, with an option through December 2030.

ADEMAR CHÁVEZ

Position: Midfielder

Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Birthday: January 12, 2009 (16)

Previous Club: FC Cincinnati 2 (MLS NEXT Pro)

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