Mo Adams

Photography by Dave Williamson & Matthew Dingle.

Mo Adams had a contract lined up. In a few short days, the young player would put pen to paper and become a professional soccer player for the first time. It was Friday when England’s Blackburn Rovers made their offer. Adams was 18. He’d sign Monday. A new adult, days away from his dream job.

But then, over the weekend, while training– four tendons in his ankle snapped during a collision with another player. Adams was carried off the field on a stretcher. A pro offer was no longer on the table. A dream, years in the making, just three days away from solidifying, was put on pause.

At first, it looked like a tide was receding– a chance at playing professional soccer, dragged out of reach and back into the depths. 

Rather, Adams was about to make several vital choices that would help him ride– and one day, lead– another wave. A wave headed in a different direction. A wave that would take him across the Atlantic Ocean to play alongside legends and make a name for himself in a new country. A different– and somewhat uncharted– path to his childhood dream.

At a young age, Mo Adams began playing soccer in Eritrea, in East Africa– the first of three continents that he’d play soccer on, as of 2022. 

“It was just kind of playing for fun,” Adams recalls. “I didn't take anything seriously; it was just playing outside with my friends and for the love of the game.”

Adams’ family moved to Nottingham, England, when he was eight. There, Adams continued to play soccer– or, rather, football. He first joined his school’s team, then his district team, and then began playing academy. At age 10, he signed with Nottingham Forest, the oldest professional football club in the English Football League.

Surrounded by professional teams and facilities for the first time, Adams began to envision a potential career path for himself as his age hit double-digits.

“It's competitive even at a young age, and there are tournaments every week, and there were two professional teams in the city that I was in: Nottingham Forest and Notts County,” Adams says. “It was damn, I'm literally in the thick of it now… I think at that point, at the age of eight to ten, was when I was like, ‘Man, this is what I want to do.’”

Adams, then, surrounded by these elite-level teams and training grounds, had his sights set on signing a professional, first-team contract. He played at Nottingham Forest from age 10 to 15 and was offered a scholarship there, which would have kept him at Forest from 16 to 18. However, he was also offered a scholarship by Derby County Football Club, a team in the East Midlands. Adams knew Derby County’s reputation– as a team that frequently brought its youth players up into the first team, a well-established pathway to the pros. 

Adams remembers his years at Derby County as “amazing,” a place where he grew as a player and “made a lot of good friends.” However, he wasn’t offered a professional contract there, so he again looked elsewhere– “in a little bit of a crossroads,” as he puts it.

He tried out with Blackburn Rovers, a team in the EFL Championship, England’s second-tier football division. Adams’ trial went well; he impressed at midfield, the position that he had been playing ever since a trial game at Nottingham Forest when he had done well in the position, despite his early years “bagging goals” as a striker, as he puts it. 

The Rovers offered him a professional contract on Friday, set to be signed on Monday– Adams’ dream, nearly a decade in the making, was only a weekend away.

But then, on Saturday– Adams was training and felt his ankle give. X-rays showed that four tendons in his ankles had snapped. He’d have to have surgery. The Rovers had to regretfully withdraw the contract with Adams not able to play in the foreseeable future. 

Adams didn’t know what to do. 

“When I first got injured, of course, going back to that, it was like– I was mad,” Adams recalls. “I was in bits, you know, depressed. My mom was the person who was by my side through that.”

As he recovered from his injury, training at local facilities, Adams’ desire to play professionally remained. Once he was able to play, he practiced with a local semi-pro team, but for the other players, soccer was just a side occupation in addition to other full-time jobs, something to relieve stress in the evenings and to knock around a ball on the weekends. Adam wanted to play. He wanted this to be his job.

There was the seed of an idea, planted in his mind by other players who had taken the road less traveled to playing professional soccer: playing overseas– playing in MLS. Players like Dom Dwyer and Jack Harrison had made the jump from England to college soccer to MLS, Adams knew.

“It was nice to kind of see them and use them as examples,” Adams says. “If they can do it, why can't I?”

Still, there were doubts. In 2016, Adams admits that many people in England viewed playing in the United States as a last-resort option. There was limited understanding of how competitive NCAA college soccer was in the United States, compared to universities in England, where students would play soccer just for fun or for physical education.

Friends asked Adams if this decision meant he still wanted to go pro; he told them, “Yeah, this is a different path to making it,” Adams remembers.

After settling on the idea of playing collegiately, Adams signed with Vertex Soccer, a company that helps recruit and connect young players from the UK and Ireland to universities in the United States. On Vertex Soccer’s “What We Do” page, web page visitors can read about their mission, the text overlaid on a photo of Adams himself.

That’s because Adams was an example of Vertex at work; he played in a showcase match and had “nearly ten offers” extended to him shortly afterward, he recalls. 

“It was nice to feel wanted after a while, after being rejected and rejected, and you're hitting a wall, and everything just seems to be going the opposite way that you want it to.”

Two college coaches– Mike Noonan at Clemson and Ian McIntyre at Syracuse– came to visit Adams at his house in England to meet his family and talk with him face-to-face about their programs. Adams says that he was transparent with coaches that his ultimate goal was to play professionally, even if that meant graduating early and only playing college for a couple of years.

“I think for any coach to make that trip over to England to like, sit in the living room and talk to me, and kind of tell them like, ‘Hey, I'm going to take care of this kid, and you can trust me,’ it meant a lot to my parents,” Adams explains. “It meant a lot to me.”

McIntyre, head coach at Syracuse, is English like Adams and had a track record of coaching players who went pro. Adams had his eye on Major League Soccer’s Generation Adidas program, which selects a handful– around five or six– college players every year that can go into the MLS SuperDraft before graduating from college. Prior to Adams signing with Syracuse, the men’s soccer team had Alex Bono and Julian Buescher sign Generation Adidas contracts in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Miles Robinson would sign and go second in the MLS draft in 2016. 

Adams wanted to be the next ‘Cuse player to sign with the Generation Adidas program.

“I told [Coach McIntyre] like, straight up, I said, ‘Hey, I want to get this… as soon as I can. 

He said, ‘It's going to be tough. You're not the only player who dreams of this,’’ remembers Adams. “I said, ‘I know, like, for sure, obviously, right?’ But he was like, ‘I'm gonna push you, I'm gonna make you feel uncomfortable and all this stuff. And if you are into that, there's no reason why you can't achieve that.’ It was at that moment that I realized, like, okay, 100%, this is the coach that's gonna allow me to achieve my dreams.”

In 2016, Adams’ first season with the Orange, he was named to the All-Atlantic Coastal Conference Third Team, the All-ACC Freshman Team, and the All-ACC Academic Team. He also earned the honor of the Syracuse Male Rookie of the Year.

Then, in 2017, his sophomore year– Adams earned All-ACC Second Team honors and served as the Orange’s team captain. Syracuse also shut out No. 1 Wake Forest.

Word of Adams’ success at Syracuse traveled overseas. He received some coverage in the UK, and friends and old teammates began asking him questions about Vertex Soccer and similar programs. When Adams would travel home for Christmas break, he’d stop by different local academies and host workshops on what it was like to be a college athlete in the US.

“Now it's like people's first decision or first option when they get released,” Adams says on playing college soccer, “whereas previous was like, the last thing in their mind.”

Meanwhile, Adams’ success was also drawing attention from the MLS. Top Drawer Soccer and other websites ranked MLS prospects, Adams included. He talked to agents and coaches about his plans, about what he was thinking, as he decided to stay for his sophomore year at Syracuse. 

Adams admits that the team didn’t perform as well during his sophomore season, and he worried about his chances at securing the Generation Adidas contract.

“I was like, ‘Damn, it’s probably not gonna happen this year,’” he recalls thinking. He thought his goal of playing professionally would be out of reach again, at least for one more year.

Adams’ worries about the contract proved to be unfounded, as he was one of six collegiate standouts awarded the contract in the 2018 Generation Adidas class, announced in January of that year.

Talks with agents and MLS teams picked up as Adams prepared for the draft.

“I made sure that everything kind of [went] through Ian McIntyre, my head coach, as a sign of respect,” Adams says. “I didn't want to be checked out.”

The moment was here– the one Adams had been waiting for for years, first within reach, then delayed, then pushed towards again during his two years at Syracuse. On (date), the Chicago Fire selected Adams 10th overall in the MLS SuperDraft. Adams was a professional soccer player.

In his first season, Adams would start ten games and appear in 15 for the Fire. In Chicago, Adams played alongside international legends like Bastian Schweinsteiger and MLS legends like Dax McCarty.

“It was unbelievable,” Adams says. “I had great mentors there.”

Adams played in Chicago’s midfield alongside Schweinsteiger, the World Cup champion German midfielder with the fourth most caps in German men’s team history and played for the Fire for three seasons after his years at Bayern Munich and Manchester United. 

“When I realized I was going [to Chicago], that's the first thing that came to mind,” says Adam. “I was like, ‘I'm Schweinsteiger’s teammate now. I remember first walking into the locker room, and I just see him across from me. He's tall. You know, it was like– just a legend. It made me realize… you used to watch [him] for Bayern Munich and Manchester United, and now you pass him the ball, and he knows your name, all these little things.”

While with Chicago, Adams also got the chance to travel to Munich, Germany, for the Fire’s game against Bayern Munich, Schweinsteiger’s old club. There, in Chicago’s 4-0 loss to the Bundesliga side, Schweinsteiger played a half for each team. Adams remembers playing against “world-class players” like Robert Lewandowski, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, and Thiago Alcântara. 

“Thiago and I traded jerseys– well, I didn't give him mine,” Adams qualifies with a laugh. “I kept mine. I got his -- the game-worn one --which was very cool. I actually talked to him on the field, and then as we walked inside, I felt like he would forget about it like he's been asked by everybody, and he's waiting outside a locker room for me. Then, he gave it to me and wished me all the best.”

After playing a season and a half with the Fire, Adams was traded to Atlanta United FC in July 2019 in exchange for $100,000 in allocation money.

Adams debuted on the day that his trade was announced– just one day after he himself knew the deal to Atlanta was finalized. He subbed on in a 5-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo. 

“I literally got to the hotel at night, and they’re like, alright, your jersey number is 29, and you’re in the squad for tomorrow's game,” Adams recalls. He says that he met some players for the first time in the locker room, pregame.

The quick pace of Adams’ transition to Atlanta continued. Just nine days after his trade, Adams scored his first professional goal in Atlanta’s 4-3 loss to LAFC on July 26. On a set play in the second minute of the game, a high ball sent across the 18 was headed back towards the six, and Adams, sitting just outside a jumble of players crashing the goal, was able to curl the ball into the net. He ran towards the stands, his teammates hugging him and hanging off his shoulders as United went up 1-0 not even 90 seconds into the game.

Less than a month later, Adams helped Atlanta win the Campeones Cup against Club America in August 2019, with Atlanta becoming the first MLS team to claim the title. Later that same August, Adams lifted the US Open Cup trophy with United, as he was on the roster for the tournament semifinal and final. Two trophies, about two weeks apart– not too bad for Adams’ first full month with the team.

“In college, I won a lot of individual accolades, but… we didn't really win [any trophies] you know, as a team, so to go to Atlanta in my first year and win two trophies there– that was awesome.”

Chicago hadn’t qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in either of Adams’ years with the team, so these tournaments with Atlanta United FC were his first opportunities for professional tournament-style play.

“The [tournament] environment that you're playing is very different to what you usually play in,” Adams describes. “The crowds are very intense, the style of football is different, you have to deal with things like high altitude” and different styles of play that are less familiar compared to the MLS teams that you play on the regular and remember each time you match up against them.

Another intense crowd and atmosphere from Adams’ time in Atlanta? The home crowd, in Mercedes Benz Stadium.

“Can't beat the Benz,” says Adams. “The crowd, how modern it is-- just looks amazing, and even when I played here with Chicago, it was amazing, a tough place to come and play. You can really hear the fans, and it's just packed inside of a dome, really. Then when you play for Atlanta, you really feel the energy of the crowd, and in games when you've been kind of chasing the game, or we're trying to win and score at the end, you really feel the energy from them.”

Also, during his time in Atlanta, Adams became involved with the organization Black Players for Change, a coalition of Black MLS players focused on promoting inclusion in soccer and elevating the voices of Black players and communities. Founded on Juneteenth in 2020 after the death of George Floyd and the ensuing protests against police brutality and systematic racism, Black Players for Change is headed by executive director Justin Morrow, a retired player for Toronto FC. 

Adams, alongside over 170 Black MLS players, coaches, and staff, have joined the organization and supported its pushes for “programs, partnerships, and policies that address systemic discrimination,” as stated on BPC’s website. They planned collective demonstrations of solidarity before the MLS Is Back Tournament in 2020, push for more diverse hiring practices in the MLS, and encourage Black players to speak out on their experiences and connect with one another.

“It's amazing when players from different teams from around the league come together and have these conversations and share where we want to take this from here,” Adams says as he gives credit to Morrow’s role as a leader for the group. “It's all athlete-driven … and I'm sure this upcoming season, we'll obviously have a lot more to do.”

At the very end of 2021– December 17, nearly two and a half years since Adams began playing for Atlanta– the team announced that Adams would be traded to Inter Miami FC for goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira. 

“He is an athletic and skillful player, can feature as a midfielder and right back, and brings a winning mentality that will be valuable for our roster,” Miami chief soccer officer and sporting director Chris Henderson said in a release. 

Adams says he’ll remember the influential teammates and coaches he played alongside and for in Atlanta. Like in Chicago, Adams played with international and MLS standouts in Atlanta’s midfield– Jeff Larentowicz and Darlington Nagbe, to name a few that Adams says he looked up to.

“I learned a lot from my time there, and hopefully, I can take that on to Miami now,” Adams says.

Much of Inter Miami FC has English roots, from club owner David Beckham to head coach Phil Neville. That national connection excites Adams.

“David Beckham [is very] hands-on in Miami, comes to all the games, comes to most training sessions, and then playing for Phil Neville, as an Englishman– these people are like legends of the game over there,” says Adams. “I'm looking forward to going out there, getting started, and just really relishing the challenge and the opportunity that is in front of me.”

Inter Miami’s 2022 season will open Feb. 26 against Chicago, a first regular-season home game in Miami for Adams. A new chapter in his playing career will begin for his fifth year in the MLS.

It’s another change– Adams says adaptability is the key to success in soccer and the MLS. Moving from continent to continent, city to city, Adams is well-accustomed to the variability of the game.

“Expect the unexpected. Be ready, especially in a league like MLS… you could end up from one end of the country to another,” Adams says. “The more you're able to deal with variables like this, the better you are able to perform, and the better you are able to handle situations [of change].”

“[When I moved to Atlanta], we didn't really get time to kind of sit down and kind of take things in, but that's the sport that we play, right?” Adams says. He had to jump in quickly with the team when the opportunity arose.

There’s a balance that Adams seems able to strike– a balance between being able to adapt to changing situations while also maintaining constant goals. This intertwining of the two– variability and consistency– has helped him to take on new challenges with each new team he competes with, to learn from legendary players around him while also utilizing the skills and abilities that make him unique as a player.

If you use a search engine to look up “English soccer players play college in United States”-- a rather incoherent jumble of words that gets across the point that you’re looking for English-born soccer players that came stateside to study and play soccer at an American university– the first result will take you to a 2016 article by SoccerWire.com.

The article is titled “The British Wave: From England to NCAA.. and on to the pros?”

The opening anecdote? Mo Adams’ story, written back in his first few months with Syracuse, before his decision to play soccer in the United States had resulted in securing his first professional contract. A leap of faith, rewarded.

Five years later, Adams is continuing college online at Southern New Hampshire University, completing a business degree, having promised his parents that if he left school early to play in the MLS, he’d return to school to continue his education and graduate college. 

“I don't feel like I've completed the whole college experience until I obviously graduate,” Adams says. “That’s next on my to-do list.”

After his playing career, Adams hopes to transition into sports broadcasting, something he’s always had an interest in. When he watches soccer, Adams doesn’t just tune in for the 90-minute game, then game over; he says he enjoys watching the previews, the predictions, the postgame analysis, and the interviews surrounding the game. 

“[When you’re broadcasting], you're talking about things you're passionate about, things you love,” says Adams. “I do feel like I'm an extrovert, so I can communicate with people openly and get my point across clearly.” 

His statistics man could be his 11-year-old little brother, Adams says– he just recently visited home in England for the 2021 holiday season and saw his little brother, who makes Premier League TikToks and follows professional football closely. 

“If you ask him about a player, he’ll tell you who he used to play for, how old he is,” Adams says. “It's crazy. He knows more than me.”

Adams had been hoping that his brother and mom would be able to fly out to see him play in Atlanta in March 2020, but when COVID-19 hit, those plans were delayed. He hopes they’ll be able to fly out to watch him play in Miami in July. 

This February, Adams will don the pink and black uniforms of Inter Miami, and on Feb. 26, he’ll go through his pregame routine-- or rather, go through the motions of a normal day for him. 

“I don’t do anything different pregame,” Adams says. “Just easy, like it’s a normal day. I don’t really try to get psyched or anything. You play best when you’re most relaxed, so I don’t really try to do anything different.”

But for this first game in Miami, something will be different for Adams. It’ll be another change of scenery– this time to south Florida– and it will be another opportunity to prove himself, to learn, and to adapt.

Photography by Dave Williamson & Matthew Dingle.