14-year-old High Point native becomes the Club鈥檚 second player to be promoted from the Academy to sign a professional contract听
CHARLOTTE, NC (Thursday, November 17, 2022) 鈥 Charlotte FC today announced the Club has signed Nimfasha Berchimas to a Homegrown contract through 2026 with an option for 2027 making him the sixth-youngest player ever to sign a Major League Soccer contract at 14 years and 268 days old.
Berchimas, a winger and United States youth international, joined Charlotte FC鈥檚 academy in 2020 as a 12-year-old from NC Fusion.
Yesterday, he was called into the U.S. Under-16 Men鈥檚 Youth National team, along with his teammate James Nyandjo, to participate in the Football Federations Cup. Of the 20 players involved, Berchimas will be the youngest participant in the tournament as the only player born in 2008 while every other player is a 2007.
鈥淚鈥檓 very excited to sign a Homegrown contract with Charlotte FC. It鈥檚 been a dream of mine to become a professional footballer,鈥 said Berchimas. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait for next season to begin, and I look forward to playing for the Crown.鈥
鈥淣imfasha is a young player who has continued to impress across the Academy and youth national team levels for the past year and we鈥檙e excited to sign him as the Club鈥檚 second Homegrown,鈥 said Sporting Director Zoran Krneta. 鈥淟ike any player his age, he has a significant amount of development ahead of him and everyone at the Club is aligned to maximize his progress on the appropriate timeline. As we continue to grow as a Club, graduation from the Academy to the professional level is vitally important to building a sustainable football club and we鈥檙e delighted to promote two players from our youth teams in our inaugural season.鈥
Over the summer, Berchimas was invited by German club Bayern Munich for a training experience within their Academy.
鈥淥n behalf of the entire Academy staff, we are extremely proud of Nimfasha and happy to see him realize his dream of becoming a professional. Signing a Homegrown contract is one of the early steps in a well-defined, long-term path for Nimfasha and today is an exciting moment for him and his family as he starts his professional journey,鈥 said Executive Academy Director Bryan Scales. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to continue developing the next generation of professional soccer players in the region through our academy pathway. As with Brian Romero before him, Homegrown signings like Nimfasha would not have been possible without the foundations laid by many of the local youth clubs throughout the Carolinas.鈥
Originally from Burundi, Berchimas and his family moved to the United States in his childhood.
Transaction: Winger Nimfasha Berchimas signs Homegrown contract
Name: Nimfasha Berchimas
Position: Winger
Height: 5鈥8鈥
Weight: 140 lbs
Date of Birth: February 22, 2008
Age: 14
Hometown: High Point, North Carolina
Last Club: Charlotte FC Academy
How Acquired: Homegrown Signing
