Abdulkadir Haji is a midfielder with the U.S. U15 Boys National Team and the New England Revolution U16 Academy team. Those accomplishments alone deserve attention, but Haji’s story is far more fascinating than athletic prowess.

Haji, who is more commonly referred to as Siad, came to the United States with his family in 2004 as refugees. The family was escaping war and turmoil, or as Haji put it, “the bad stuff,” in Kenya and Somalia.

Only six years old at the time, Haji arrived in Manchester, New Hampshire with his father Abdi, mother Isha, and six siblings. It was a whole new world for the family and his emergence on the soccer landscape was off in the horizon.

“I identified Siad at Bring It when he was a fifth grader and he began playing for the Classics as a sixth grader,” New Hampshire Classics coach Jay Joseph wrote TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Joseph explained Bring It is an after school program in the Manchester area, which is run by a school principal named Brendan McCafferty.

“[Siad] lives in the area of the Beech Street Elementary School, which has a high percentage of immigrants, many of who are refugees from various countries of Africa and also Bhutan,” Joseph continued. “For a number of years, McCafferty has run a program called ‘Bring It’ out of the Beech Street School, which includes soccer, dance, and academic support for this population of kids.”

Once Haji landed on the Classics, the wheels were set in motion as he quickly climbed the ranks of the youth soccer structure with appearances at “top tournaments and Region I ODP events.”

Haji was then called into a U.S. Training Center, which is a practice that is run by a U.S. National Team scout to access the best players in a given area of the country.

“Siad came through a few of our training centers,” U.S. Soccer Director of Scouting Tony Lepore told TopDrawerSoccer.com. “We saw a lot of talent.”

Joseph chalks up that talent to the countless hours Haji spent on his own in parks and in gyms just training before he was involved with Classics or the national team system.

“His hours upon hours playing in the park and indoor or where ever a game was available as a younger player allowed him to develop an outstanding technical level when it comes to comfort with the ball,” Joseph added. “He is also very athletic and has a good feel for the game, can see ahead and anticipate, very good for his age.”

Lepore, who is also the head coach of the U15 BNT, agreed with the assessment.

“He showed his gifts as he is very comfortable on the ball and easy moving around with the ball,” Lepore added. “He was able to adjust to some increased tactical demands.”

Last week, Haji made his second camp with the U15 BNT and did exceptionally well over the seven days, thanks in part to a move from winger to attacking midfield.

“It is great and pretty intense,” Haji told TopDrawerSoccer.com about the camp. “The training is very competitive.”

The 15-year-old is noticeably shy, but he has opened up more with every camp and now fits in easily with the group of guys on the squad.

“He used soccer as a way to adjust to the world,” Lepore said.

Joseph also added that there are others in Manchester and across the country with a similar story. The Classics currently roster about 30 inner city players at the club, many found in a similar fashion to Haji.

The New Hampshire club boasts an impressive alumni list, which includes youth standouts Guy Kabala (U.S. U17 Men’s National Team) and Ramiro Osoria (New England Revolution Academy).

“Personally, I think there are a lot of kids like [Haji] in the U.S. that just need to be identified and given the opportunity to be seen and given a ride to practice and games,” Joseph said. “The pay-to-play model that is in place is not identifying the best kids, you have to go to the park and get them.”

Luck (and a dogged determination) helped Haji make it to this level, and he is not taking any of it for granted.

“I want to represent the United States because it gave me so much freedom,” Haji said before concluding with a bashful smile, “Playing for the U.S. is pretty cool.”

Under the bright lights at the Home Depot Center on Thursday, Haji was a world away from where he was born, but he was only feet away from a stadium where he will likely play one day.