Nigeria has numerous football academies both private and government owned. These academies are established to nurture young talents of various age bracket to become professional footballers.
Today on NPFL UPDATES, we will look deep into these football academies and highlight on the top ones.
PEPSI FOOTBALL CLUB ACADEMY NIGERIA
The Pepsi Football Academy is a very prominent academy that was established in Lagos State, Nigeria on November 1992 by late Kashimawo Laloko. Kashimawo is a talent developer and Former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Technical director.
It was functioning until 1994 when the academy was fully taken over by the Pepsi Cola Company. And thus bearing the name Pepsi Football Academy. The academy has continued to training young Nigerian talents in the sport of football.
Pepsi Academy has also set up 14 training centers aside that of Lagos State. It has also registered about 3,000 students who are within the age of 6–18 years.
Many notable past students of this academy includes the legendary Mikel Obi , Dominic Chatto, Echiabhi Okodugha, Sunday Mba. Others are; Yinka Adedeji, Elderson Echiéjilé, Omololu Oguntayo, Soga Sambo, Joseph Akpala among others.
At Pepsi Football Academy, qualified students has the privilege of being awarded with a scholarship opportunity to travel abroad. And also has the opportunity to play for foreign clubs. They started this scholarship program in 2006, which saw over 13 players benefiting from it. These players were selected so as to travel to England and continue to develop their career in football world.
KWARA STATE FOOTBALL ACADEMY
Kwara Football Academy is an initiative brought to light in 2005 by the Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki. It was declared opened by the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Issa Hayatou.
Kwara Football Academy despite being situated in Kwara and operated by the Kwara state government is an open academy that accepts individuals from different parts of the country. There is no form of discrimination to anyone pertaining to tribe, religion or state of origin.
The initiative of setting up this academy is one fit to be applauded for. As it is one of the best government football academies in Nigeria that is exceptional in their regulations and management. It provides skilled children the chance to receive a free formal education while pursuing a career in football.
The Academy runs a full-on boarding experience to ensure that students are equipped academically while pushing their career in football. Their school curriculum aligns with the Nigerian educational system and some form of the British curriculum.
Students are also prepared for internal and external exams like the West African School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), National Examination Certificate (NECO), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and the International Baccalaureate (IB).
Kwara Football Academy accepts students within the ages of 13 to 21. So if you are looking for an academy where your ward will be able to live, study and get extensive training in football, you might need to put Kwara Football Academy into consideration.
PAPILO FOOTBALL ACADEMY NIGERIA
Papilo Academy was established in 2000 by the former Super Eagles captain and Arsenal Icon Kanu Nwankwo. The academy is said to be located in Kanu’s private estate at Egbu Owerri Road, Imo State Nigeria. The academy is geared towards discovering gifted young players, and preparing them to become professional footballers.
Two prominent players who started their career from Papilo Football Academy are Kelechi Iheanacho and Chidiebere Nwakali, who are presently playing for top clubs Leicester City and Tuwaiq FC respectively.
Since the academy is founded by a football legend, it is well structured and managed by experienced coaches.
MIDAS FOOTBALL CLUB ACADEMIES NIGERIA
Midas Football Academy was established in 2006 in Ipaja, Lagos State, Nigeria, by Ahmed Bayonle Arashi, an entrepreneur, television and radio broadcaster with reputable profile. It is registered with the Nigerian Football Federation and also with Lagos State Football Association.
From their official website midasfootballacademy.com Midas does not only provide trainings for young talents but also deals in broadcast and sports equipment purchase services to individuals and corporate organizations as well as organize world-class soccer tours, trials and tournaments for individual players and teams in Africa, Europe and the United States.
BARCELONA FOOTBALL ACADEMY
Barcelona Football Academy is a joint partnership project between Barcelona FC and the Blaugrana Group International. It was founded in 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria.
The launching of the Barcelona Football Academy in Nigeria by the European club is a huge stepping stone that will help many talented youths to get first class training and coaching from the prestigious academy.
Barcelona Football Academy is highly exceptional due to the fact that her coaches are UEFA-certified with and have years of expertise tutoring young footballers.
ABUJA FOOTBALL COLLEGE
Mr. Gabriele Volpi, a licensed FIFA instructor in partnership with Haruna Abba founded Abuja Football College in 2012. Initially, the academy has its location in Kano but was latter relocated to National Stadium in Abuja.
The academy has a housing facility that can accommodate up to 120 students, as well as a college that runs the US educational curriculum. Her objective is targeted at ensuring that less privileged kids who are talented in football are trained to compete globally.
The Abuja Football College is said to also have other training camps in Lagos and Owerri.
SIAONE SOCCER ACADEMY
SIAONE soccer academy was established in 2004 by former Super Eagles player and coach, Samson Siasia in Abuja. It is among the best sports academies in Nigeria.
The academy’s serene environment is structured to provide adequate platform to training players thoroughly into outstanding players that will dominate in the world of football. The academy’s mission is to provide world class football training to exceptional football talents.
COWBELL FOOTBALL ACADEMY
Cowbell Football Academy is set up by Promasidor Nigeria, makers of Cowbell milk; The Nigerian Olympic Team’s official milk at the 2012 London Olympics in the United Kingdom.
During its launch in 2012 the MD of Promasidor Nigeria Mr Richard stated that the academy is a joint venture between Multisport Services & Entertainment and Nigeria’s own sports maverick, Dudu Orumen.
In his words “Nigeria is blessed with an abundance of talented young athletes that want to realize their potential and honor our country.
Due to this, we have made the decision to support their aspirations through the Cowbell Football Academy, The Academy is open to kids who have the appropriate commitment and passion for the sport they love, and it is staffed by experienced and enthusiastic football coaches. The Cowbell Football Academy is prepared, and we are confident that the future football stars will emerge shortly” said Richards.
The Cowbell Football Academy welcomes young talented students between ages 3 to 18 years. Promasidor Nigeria is applauded for its commitment towards developing talents by organizing various sports competition like the annual Animal Games for primary schools, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) volleyball tournament, the Try Rugby camp for kids and the annual ParaSoccer Tournament for the physically challenged.
NB: Football academies in Nigeria have gone a long way in helping develop Nigeria’s national teams at all levels.
