By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
October 9, 2026-Sometimes, kids playing recreational soccer in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) wind up representing the USA internationally a decade later. That’s what happened to Adri Mehmeti, now 17 years old and playing for the Red Bulls.
Adri (AHH-dree) started playing soccer when he was two years old. His first team was a recreational side, the Richmondtown Rampage of the Staten Island Youth Soccer League (SIYSL), and he played in Richmondtown for two years.
“Adri was really, really talented and hard working. He was great, a real sweetheart who stood out from the rest of the players,” explained Richmondtown coach Joey Caruana Jr. “His father Vani is very passionate about the sport.”
Vani Mehmeti grew up in Albania and played for a semipro team in Greece before emigrating to the USA where he played for New York Albanians in 2007-08, Kofrabi for 5.5 years and then FC Ulqini, all in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League.
Adri moved on to play for the SIYSL’s Staten Island United, then for Red Bulls Academy. Vani would schedule night shifts for the trucking company he owns so that he could drive him to the Red Bulls’ practices in New Jersey in the afternoon. As Adri continued to develop, he played for the Boys-Under-15 National Youth Teams for both the USA and Albania.
His proud father recalled, “Playing for Albania there, he scored a goal with nearly 100 of our relatives watching.”
Adri made his professional debut as a 16-year-old with the Red Bulls and the midfielder is now a fixture in their starting line-up at age 17.
An additional proud moment for the Mehmeti family was when Adri came on as a second-half substitute, replacing another Eastern New York product, Tyler Adams, for the US Men’s National Team in their 4-1 win over Peru on September 26 in Orlando.
“I cannot put into words how great it is that Adri is playing for the US Men’s National Team. It’s a dream come true,” his father said. “I met my wife, Adri’s mother, here, he was born here and developed here. We have become successful in the United States.”
The future looks bright for Adri and the US Men’s National Team. In the recently-completed international window, he played in three games, coming in as a sub against Peru and Canada plus starting against Chile, which were all victories for the red, white and blue.
With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border, east of Route 81. ENYYSA encourages the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of US Soccer and US Youth Soccer. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/