2026 has been the year of South Africa for the Chicago Fire. After the arrivals of Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Puso Dithejane in the offseason, the club has drawn plenty of new eyes from across the country, with teenage prospect Brody Williams the latest to benefit from that spotlight.
Williams, who turned 16 earlier this year, is among the highest-potential players in the Fire organization and is currently signed to an MLS Next Pro contract. A plethora of first team absences prompted by the international break brought him into the first team setup for the first time against Charlotte last week.
“I think Brody has definitely been standing out for his tenacity, how he competes one-v-one, how he’s fearless,” Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter said on Monday. “He’s a really, really interesting player.”
“Brody is a case of a kid who’s worked really hard to get to this position and get to the first team. Just keep working hard — that’s all you can ask from him.”
Born in Johannesburg but having lived in the United States since the age of 11, Williams' stateside development began in FC Barcelona's U.S. academy programs (initially in Chicago, then in Arizona). At 15, he returned to Chicago when he signed a Fire II contract, and went on to make 11 Next Pro appearances this season (scoring twice).
Williams ultimately did not feature in the match last Saturday as he was an unused sub in the Fire’s narrow 1-0 victory at Bank of America Stadium. An appearance would have made him unequivocally the Fire’s youngest-ever player, a record set by fellow 2010-born Robert Turdean in August.
The teenage central midfielder Williams, who has been used as a left-sided midfielder at the first team, second team, and academy levels, has continued to train with the main team regularly. That includes Monday, when Williams once again took part in final matchday-1 preparations.
With Dithejane expected back from international duty and Anton Salétros recovering from injury (he is currently officially questionable but has been back in team training for almost two weeks), Williams is less likely to be in the squad again. If he is, it will be his last chance to break Turdean's record for the youngest Fire player in all competitions (he will be one day younger than Turdean was on his debut), though the club's MLS record (held by Craig Capano) would theoretically remain in play for the rest of this season.
“As we get our guys back, we have to see,” Berhalter said of possible involvement against Vancouver.
Unless an injury crisis unfolds, this is likely the last chance for players far down the depth chart (including Dean Boltz and Oscar Pineda) to make a first team impact and, following Fire II's MLS Next Pro elimination, almost certainly their final shot at professional minutes in 2026. Williams and Pineda both started for the Fire U-19s in a 2-0 MLS Next regular season win over St. Louis CITY U-19s on Saturday and were substituted after about an hour; although both have largely graduated from that level, playing with the academy is most likely the only game action they will get for the rest of the year.
