Philadelphia Union announced today they have called up Union II midfielder CJ Olney. Previously signing a short-term agreement for the Union’s matches against FC Cincinnati, Charlotte FC, CF Montreal, Chicago Fire FC, and as an Olympic Call Up Replacement against Toronto FC, the 17-year-old Union Academy product will be available for the club’s match tonight against New England. Olney made his MLS debut coming on as a substitute against Charlotte FC on June 22, 2024.Due to the release of players for the 2024 Summer Olympics, the league and MLSPA have agreed to allow an excepton to the limitations on short-term agreements.
Per the 2024 MLS Roster Rules and Regulations, a club may sign a player, age 25 years or younger during the league season, from its affiliate (MLS NEXT Pro) to a maximum of four Short-Term Agreements (up to four-day contracts) each season, however due to the release of players for the 2024 Summer Olympics from July 9 to August 9, the League and the MLSPA have agreed to allow an exception to the limitations on Short-Term SPAs for clubs with players unavailable due to Olympics national team call ups. During the period of unavailability due to an Olympics call up, Clubs may sign one player to a Short-Term SPA to replace each unavailable player (an “Olympics Call Up Replacement”). An Olympics Call Up Replacement will not count toward the CBA limitation on the number of Short-Term SPAs a player may sign nor the limitation on those players being added to rosters and appearing in matches.
TRANSACTION: Philadelphia Union sign midfielder CJ Olney to a short-term agreement on July 17, 2024.
Name: CJ Olney
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 153
Born: December 16, 2006
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Hometown: Hillsborough, New Jersey
Citizenship: United States
