Adam Ahmad Najem (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: آدام نجم; born 19 January 1995) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Born in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, he played for the Afghanistan national team.

Career

Youth and college

Raised in

Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area.L ...

, Najem played prep soccer at

Paramus Catholic High School Paramus Catholic High School is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school located in Paramus in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school, founded in 1965, under Archbishop Thomas A. Boland, and Superintendent of Schools, Mon ...

. Najem played four years of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

between 2013 and 2016, making 89 appearances, scoring 33 goals and tallying 29 assists. While at college, Najem also appeared for

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

sides New York Red Bulls U23 and

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mid-Michigan Bucks, playing in Saginaw, and began playing in 1996. In ...

, where he won the 2016 PDL Championship.

Club

Najem signed with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

on February 8, 2017, after acquiring his rights from

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

in exchange for a second-round 2018

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...

pick. He made his professional debut on April 1, 2017, while on loan with the Union's

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

affiliate

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...

, playing 90 minutes in a 3–2 loss to

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

. Najem joined

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

expansion club

Memphis 901 Memphis 901 FC was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. On November 13, 2024, it was announced that the team would be ...

on February 5, 2019. Najem joined Polish

I liga I liga (, ), currently named Betclic I liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga via promotion/rel ...

club

Wigry Suwałki Wigry Suwałki is a Polish football club based in Suwałki, Podlaskie Voivodeship. In the 2025–26 season, they compete in group I of the III liga. They play their home games at the . Players Current squad Ou ...

on January 22, 2020 On August 5, 2020, Najem returned to the United States, joining USL Championship side

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. On August 9, 2021, Najem signed with

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

side

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. On February 9, 2022, the club announced that Najem and all but two other players would not be returning for the 2022 season. On May 19, 2022, Najem signed a 25-day short-term contract with

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. Hi ...

. Najem made his first appearance for New York on May 21, 2022, in a 2–0 loss to

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

International

In August 2018, Najem received his first international call-up to the Afghanistan national team.

Personal

Adam's brother,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, is also a professional footballer.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Najem, Adam 1995 births Living people Paramus Catholic High School alumni Soccer players from Clifton, New Jersey Sportspeople from Wayne, New Jersey Afghan men's footballers Afghanistan men's international footballers American people of Afghan descent American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Akron Zips men's soccer players Flint City Bucks players New York Red Bulls II players New York Red Bulls U-23 players Philadelphia Union players Philadelphia Union II players Memphis 901 FC players Wigry Suwałki players Tampa Bay Rowdies players FC Edmonton players Bhayangkara Presisi Lampung F.C. players Soccer players from Passaic County, New Jersey Sportspeople of Afghan descent Canadian Premier League players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players I liga players Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Homegrown Players (MLS) Afghan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Indonesia Afghan expatriate sportspeople in Poland Afghan expatriate sportspeople in Canada Afghan expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia 21st-century American sportsmen