Younes Boudadi ( ar, يونس بودادي) (born 23 January 1996) is a professional footballer who plays for Indy Eleven in the USL Championship. Born in Belgium, he has represented Morocco at youth level.

Club career

Amateur

Boudadi joined

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

when he was just 7 years old and played with them for over 13 years. After leaving Club Brugge, Boudadi opted to move to the United States to play college soccer, and accepted a scholarship to play at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

in 2016. After two years in Boston, Boudadi transferred to play at Creighton University, where he played for a further two years. Whilst at college, Boudadi appeared for fourth-tier sides in the USL PDL and the NPSL. In 2017 he played with Boston Bolts and in 2018 Laredo Heat.

Professional

On 13 January 2020, Boudadi was selected 102nd overall in the

2020 MLS SuperDraft The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was the 21st edition of the MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first SuperDraft held exclusively via conference call and web streaming. The first two rounds of the 2020 ...

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional Association football team based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club ...

. However, he did not sign with the club. On 26 March 2020, Boudadi signed with USL Championship side

Reno 1868 Reno 1868 FC was an American professional soccer team based in Reno, Nevada. Founded in 2015, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in March 2017 and ceased operations after the 2020 season. History Previously, northern Nevada has ...

. He made his debut on 19 July 2020, appearing as a 56th-minute substitute in a 1-0 loss to

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, th ...

. Following Reno's folding, due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Boudadi signed with USL Championship side Hartford Athletic on 22 December 2020. On 2 December 2022, it was announced Boudadi would join USL Championship side Indy Eleven ahead of their upcoming 2023 season.

International career

Boudadi has represented Morocco at under-17 and

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

levels, including at the

2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fifteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates between 17 October and 8 November. Nigeria won the tournament after defeating Mexico 3–0 in the final, cla ...

Personal life

Boudadi is a polyglot, speaking four languages: Arabic, French, Dutch and English.

Racial abuse incident

After Hartford defeated

Loudoun United 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 ...

on 4 July 2021, Boudadi received a number of racist messages on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

. Boudadi went public with these messages immediately and the United Soccer League was able to investigate and ban the unnamed perpetrator from all USL events.

References

External links

Younes Boudadi - Men's Soccer
Boston College bio
Younes Boudadi - 2019 - Men's Soccer
Creighton bio
Younes Boudadi , Player Profile , Reno 1868 FC
Reno 1868 bio *
Younes Boudadi USL bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boudadi, Younes 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Ypres Footballers from West Flanders Moroccan men's footballers Morocco men's youth international footballers Belgian men's footballers Belgian sportspeople of Moroccan descent Moroccan expatriate men's footballers Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football defenders Boston College Eagles men's soccer players Creighton Bluejays men's soccer players Boston Bolts (USL) players Laredo Heat players Reno 1868 FC players Hartford Athletic players Indy Eleven players National Premier Soccer League players USL League Two players USL Championship players Los Angeles FC draft picks