Kristian George Fletcher (born August 6, 2005) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a winger for

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

, on loan from

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

Club career

Fletcher started his career playing for

MLS Next MLS Next (stylized as MLS NEXT) is a youth soccer league in the United States and Canada, that is managed, organized and controlled by Major League Soccer. It was introduced by the league in 2020. It is a successor to the U.S. Soccer Developmen ...

club Bethesda SC and

Landon School Landon School is a private, college preparatory school for boys in grades 3–12, with an enrollment of approximately 680 students, in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Background Paul Landon Banfield and his wife, Mary Lee, fou ...

in Bethesda, Maryland. As a junior, Fletcher was named the All-Metro Player of the Year after scoring 26 goals and contributing 9 assists over the course of the 17 game season. He also led the team to the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) Championship, scoring the game winner. During the summer of 2022, Fletcher went on trial with a number of European academies including

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

. Following the trip, Fox Sports reporter

Keith Costigan Keith Costigan is a former professional soccer player who now works as a television analyst and commentator for Apple TV. Costigan is originally from Dublin, Ireland where he played youth football for Irish youth clubs Vianney Boys, St. Kevin ...

announced that Fletcher would be signing for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club Borussia Dortmund, although it was never confirmed. Ahead of the 2022 USL Championship season, Fletcher signed a contract with

Loudoun United FC Loudoun United FC is an American professional soccer team based in Leesburg, Virginia. The team was founded in 2018 as the reserve team of D.C. United and made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. History On July 18, 2018, the team was offi ...

. He played 12 matches and scored four goals before being promoted to

on a homegrown contract. On August 31, 2022, he made his MLS debut in a 2–1 win at

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

. Fletcher scored his first goal with D.C. United on October 9, 2022, during a 5–2 loss against

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

. Fletcher joined Welsh club

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

for the first half of the 2023–24 season, where he linked up with the under-21 side.

International career

Holding both U.S. and British passports, Fletcher has been capped by the United States at both under-15 and under-19 level, including spring 2022 friendlies against both England and Norway in Marbella, Spain.

References

2004 births Living people American people of British descent American men's soccer players Men's association football wingers D.C. United players Loudoun United FC players Soccer players from Maryland Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Homegrown Players (MLS) Sportspeople from Bowie, Maryland {{US-footy-bio-stub