The Inter Miami CF Academy presented by Baptist Health announced today its complete roster of over 150 players, staff and competition details ahead of the 2023-24 season. The Academy, which funds seven youth teams across seven different age groups from U-12 through U-19 and trains at the state-of-the-art Florida Blue Training Center, resumed training at the start of the month and welcomed 35 new players for the upcoming season.
“We look forward to another great season after a highly successful 2022-23 season. Our Academy program potential and success was best reflected by the contribution of our 6 academy homegrowns in our first team, the 15 academy players that have been part of our MLS NEXT Pro this season, and the 20 academy payers called up to Youth National teams. We want to give a warm welcome to our competitive players, their dedicated parents, and our hard-working staff”. said Inter Miami CF Academy Director Victor Pastora, who is entering his first year at the helm. “Our academy program was established to give talented South Florida players the opportunity to achieve their dreams. We show our appreciation for this privilege, by giving our best effort to make the most of each day. We will continue to grow our partner club’s collaboration and will work to establish a relationship with every youth program in South Florida. We thank our owners and sporting director for their constant support and commitment to providing a great platform for us to achieve our dreams”
Competition Details
The Inter Miami CF Academy teams began preseason preparations at the start of the month ahead of an exciting new campaign.
The U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16 and U-17 teams will continue participating in the MLS NEXT league for the upcoming season, while the U-12 team will continue to compete in the Florida Academy League.
Additionally, the U-19 squad will continue competing in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL), with the team being part of the highly competitive Florida South Premiere Conference.
Inter Miami CF Academy Notable Achievements
Inter Miami launched its Academy in September 2019. These players, who are among the most talented soccer athletes from across South Florida, were chosen to sign with the Academy and positioned to have the best opportunities to continue advancing through the club’s player development pathway to the highest levels of the sport at no cost to the players and families.
Notable achievements for the Academy in its young history include the promotions of six Academy players through the ranks and up to the First Team, with Noah Allen, Edison Azcona, Benjamin Cremaschi, Ian Fray, David Ruiz and Felipe Valencia signing Homegrown contracts for Inter Miami. Five of them have already made their MLS debuts for the team and have recorded appearances throughout the 2023 season, while also helping the First Team clinch its first official trophy by winning the 2023 Leagues Cup. Notably, Ruiz became the first Academy product to score for the First Team when he netted in the 3-1 win over the New England Revolution at DRV PNK Stadium on May 13. Fray and Cremaschi have also scored for Inter Miami, with Fray registering one goal in 2023 MLS regular season action, while Cremaschi has scored once this MLS season and also in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Leagues Cup. Additionally, Academy product and current Inter Miami CF II defender Israel Boatwright featured in an 2023 MLS regular season match while being on a short-term loan agreement from the Club’S MLS NEXT Pro affiliate.
The 2022-23 season was a fruitful one for the Academy, with the U-13s, U-14s, U-15s, U16s and U19s winning their respective leagues, the U-13 side claiming the U-13 category gold division championship title and the U-14 team winning the U-14 silver division title at the 2023 Easter International Cup, and the U-15 and U-16 squads securing MLS NEXT Playoffs berths.
Individually, the season saw numerous Academy players achieve major milestones in their young careers. In all, 20 players received national team call-ups during the most recent season, and 10 Academy players made their professional debuts for Inter Miami CF II, while on Academy contracts. Additionally, three Academy products earned their first professional contracts with Inter Miami II this past season, Boatwright, Bryan Destin and Tyler Hall. Three Academy graduates also represented the Club at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, with Azcona and Boatwright playing for the Dominican Republic and Ruiz being called up by Honduras.
Academy Staff
Victor Pastora will be overseeing his first year as Academy Director throughout the 2023-24 season. Pastora brings over 25 years of experience at the youth and professional coaching levels, having held several technical and coaching roles in his career and most recently having managed the Academy’s U-15 (winning the MLS Next National championship in 2022) and U-19 teams and also served as College Program Coordinator achieving 100% college placement for college bound players.
On the coaching front, meanwhile, there have been several changes: former U-14 team head coach Giuseppe DePalo has been named new head coach of the U-19 team; Chris O’Neal will be in charge of the U-17 squad alongside assistant coach Tyrone Mears; Ihor Dotsenko will lead the U-16 side with assistant coach Chris Nurse on his side as assistant coach; Pedro Cavalcanti will once again be the head coach of the U-15 team and Ben Applefield will be his assistant coach; Alex Kuehl will now manage the U-14 side with Julius James as assistant coach; Gibran Tevar will continue leading the U-13 team with Julius James being assistant coach; Diego Garcia has been hired as the U-12 team head coach pending the receipt of his work permit.
New Roster Additions
U-12: Bautista Apablaza (Davie United Soccer Club), Rylan Hand (Team Boca SC), Jelove Lundy (Barça Academy Pro Miami), Jacob Mascarena (Weston FC), Thiago Messi (unattached), Kevin O’Donovan (AC Miami), Ammar Osman (FC Prime), Matias Rodriguez (Miami Rush Kendall SC), Romeo Rodrigues (Weston FC)
U-13: Sven Attie (Pinecrest SC), Andre Campbell (Plantation FC), Noah DesRois (Miami Shores SC), Daniel Hernandez (FC Prime), Alejandro Lopez (Weston FC), Valentino Morales (Barça Academy Pro Miami), Jovany Pantoja (South Florida Football Academy), Julio Zabaleta (Juventus Academy Miami)
U-14: Diego Dini (PSG Academy Florida), Ashua Gill (Palm Beach United), David Morin Dos Santos (Miami Rush Kendall SC), Zion Salmon (Prime SC)
U-15: Jefferson Moradel (Prime FC), Sean Gormley (West Florida SC), Sebastian Puentes-Ramirez (Weston FC)
U-16: Maximo Armando (Weston FC), Lukas Cortes (Weston FC), Marcus Jean Giles (South Georgia Tormenta), Chaz Williams (South Florida Football Academy), Yarlis Valdes (Pinecrest SC)
U-17: Mateo Pereyra (Miami Rush Kendall SC), Dmytro Torubara (IMG Academy)
U-19: Cristian Ortiz (Tropical SC), Yuval Cohen (unattached), Mario Bardi (Miami Breakers FC), Andre Casas (Miramar FC)
Out of 35 new members of our Academy teams, 18 were recruited from teams that are part of the Inter Miami CF Academy Partner Club Program: Davie United Soccer Club (1), Barça Academy Pro Miami (2), Weston FC (6), Miami Rush Kendall (3), Juventus Academy Miami (1), Plantation FC (1), Pinecrest SC (2), South Florida Football Academy (2).
Download the Academy’s full roster for the 2023-24 season below.
