James Sands Biography – MLS Soccer Player

Last updated on June 1st, 2022 at 08:53 am

James Sands is a professional soccer player famous for his defensive prowess at the Major League Soccer (MLS) side, New York City FC, and the United States National Men’s Soccer Team. Sands was called up to the national team for the first time in 2021 and will gear up to feature in the squad that will play the 2022 World Cup. He played as a defensive midfielder at the start of his career and then switched to center-back.

With the national team into the group stages of the World Cup, people are curious to know about the youngster. Currently, at Rangers Football Club in Scotland on loan, Sands is fully preparing for the mega event in November. So, let’s talk more about James Sands’ net worth, family, and career in this article.

Supportive Parents; Soccer-Obsessed Siblings

James Hoban Sands was born on the 6th of July, 2000, to American parents Geoffrey Sands and Elena Sands. Raised in Rye, New York, Sands has very supportive parents who have been encouraging him to follow his dreams from a young age. Geoffrey and Elena have four children, and each one of them was into soccer.

The Rangers player has a twin brother, Will Sands, a professional footballer at the MLS team Colombus Crew. Will is younger than James on minutes, and their career pathways have gone totally differently. James started with Will at the New York City Soccer Club’s U-16 Academy side in 2015, but they diverged pretty soon.

Likewise, their older sisters, Lizzie Sands and Kate Sands are also into soccer. They were the ones who got into the game first, with James and Will soon following the same path. Both the sisters play collegiate soccer.

James always aspired to go big and play in Europe, so he left the youth academy to join second-division team Louisville FC and subsequently left for Scotland. Meanwhile, Will went to college soccer after his stint with NYC was done.

Talking about his education, James attended Brunswick School. However, he passed up on going to college.

Also Read: More About US Soccer Player Walker Zimmerman 

James Sands Net Worth And Career

Having joined the youth team when he was just 10, Sands played 65 matches for New York City FC. That earned him a call-up to the United States U-17 team, where he featured in 42 games scoring a goal. Now, he has started to play for Rangers, which will get him European matches. Hence, James Sands’ net worth must be pretty substantial.

As mentioned earlier, James was part of the Louisville team that won the USL Cup in 2018, followed by his MLS Cup victory with New York in 2021. Not just that, he has been a part of the Rangers’ Scottish Cup-winning side in 2021 and finished runner-up in the UEFA Europa League in the same year.

Here are some of James Sands’ stats:

Competition	Appearances	Assists	Minutes Played
Major League Soccer	62	1	5,156
USLC	3	1	270
MLS Is Back	5	–	428
Scottish Premiership	4	–	257
CONCACAF Champions League	3	–	270

Table Source: Transfermarkt

However, Sands started 5 games for the Rangers in the 2021-22 season. Having only played seven in the league, he was essentially part of the second team and came off the bench. But, he played a substantial number of games in the USA’s CONCACAF Gold Cup win over Mexico, followed by starting one game in the World Cup Qualification.

After all these things, his net worth must have taken a giant leap. According to Spotrac, James has a base salary of $400,000 while still being on loan at Rangers, with a guaranteed salary of $493,956. New York sent Sands on an 18-month loan until June 2023 while he still has a contract with his parent club till 2026.

DeAndre Yedlin is another soccer player with a massive net worth.

Is James Sands Single?

Well, the athlete doesn’t seem to be romantically involved with anyone as of now. James is very private about his romantic life and often only shares pictures of his matches. He is quite active on social media, but it does not hint at James Sands’ girlfriend.

Moreover, there have been no rumors about James Sands’ partner. So, could it be that he is single? The information about his beau will be known when he discloses it.

Nevertheless, James seems to be enjoying his career in Scotland and is living a happy life. Let’s hope he can achieve more success and make his parents proud.

Trivia And Facts

• James was mentored by legends including Patrick Vieira, Andrea Pirlo, and David Villa.
• He has 35.2K followers on Instagram.
• He wears jersey number 19 in Rangers.

• 'Elena Sands Andrea Pirlo David Villa DeAndre Yedlin Geoffrey Sands James Hoban Sands James Sands Kate Sands Lizzie Sands Patrick Vieira Soccer Sport Celebrity Biography Will Sands