MNUFC2 announced today that the club has promoted Fanendo Adi to the role of Head Coach, effective immediately. Adi was previously the Twos’ assistant coach across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
“Fanendo Adi rolled up his sleeves and earned an opportunity to lead this space through hard work in the Academy, a willingness to learn from staff at all levels of the club, and the growth he showed while he was an assistant coach with MNUFC2,” said MNUFC Head of Development and Player Pathway, Amos Magee. “His playing resume speaks for itself and I’m excited that he’s taken another step towards building what will be an equally impressive coaching resume. I’m excited for Fanendo and for the impact he will have on the club’s development spaces.”
“I am very thrilled and excited about the opportunity to lead as MNUFC2’s Head Coach,” Fanendo Adi noted. “This player pathway at Minnesota United, and within MLS NEXT Pro as a whole, continues to show its importance and impact when it comes to the growth of young players, and this is a perfect space for me to use my past experience as a player to help these young men develop and thrive into becoming professional footballers. I am grateful for the club’s belief in my expertise and look forward to starting our season and getting to work.”
Fanendo Adi was an assistant coach with MNUFC2 across the past two seasons. During this time, Adi helped lead the Twos to their very-first MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs appearance and ultimately the Western Conference Final in 2025. He was additionally part of the interim staff with Minnesota United’s First Team ahead of the 2024 campaign, helping the team throughout the preseason and the first three games of the MLS regular season, where the Loons went an impressive 2-0-1 (W-L-D). Prior to his time with MNUFC2, Adi was the MNUFC Academy U19 head coach in 2023.
Hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, Adi is a former MLS veteran, having played the majority of his championship-winning career with the Portland Timbers. He was recently voted as a member of the Timbers’ All-Time XI, as he scored 54 goals in five seasons with the club and helped the team win MLS Cup in 2015. Adi additionally competed with FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew (won MLS Cup 2020) and finished his playing career with Minnesota United in 2021.
The 35-year-old coach began his playing career overseas in 2009 with Slovakian side AS Trenčín, where he immediately made an impact. His young career took him across Europe, where he competed in tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League, before he landed with the Portland Timbers and MLS starting in 2014.
The former MLS forward currently holds UEFA B and USSF National B coaching licenses.
MNUFC2 returns to the pitch in 2026 for its fifth season in MLS NEXT Pro, with a full-season schedule to be released in the coming weeks.
