We will give more players the opportunity at the best European academies
We will recruit more players to the European academies
This year, a total of twelve players from NF Academy’s system has had the opportunity to train with Sporting CP at their academy. In November, four more players are travelling to Lisboa for trials with the academy, and we are working hard to make sure even more players will be given the same opportunities in 2020. NF Academy is now working towards deals with top academies in Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, England and Germany.
Sporting CP were impressed by the players from NF Academy
In mid october, seven Scandinavian players from NF Academy underwent a week long trial at the famous Sporting CP academy. The Portuguese academy were so impressed they have invited four of the players back for a second trial. Akil Momade works as a scout for Sporting CP, and he sees a lot of potential in the Scandinavian players.
I was pleasantly surprised by many of the Scandinavian players. With the right coaching, I am sure several of these players can go far.
Gonçalo Nunes is responsible for making sure that players who come through the NF Academy setup get opportunities at foreign clubs. He is very pleased with what the academy has achieved so far.
Through our setup for identifying and producing talent, it is very satisfying to see that we can offer NF Academy players a path further into professional football and top academies. I think we have taken huge steps to accomodate for players who wish to play professional career abroad.
Sporting CP is known for having produced players such as ballon d’or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo. Additionally, over the years Sporting have exported players to the most competitive leagues and developed a training culture that have attracted some of the biggest talents in Europe.
The fact that eleven of the ten players who played in the Euro 2016 final have come through the ranks of Sporting CP, says a lot about the quality of their youth setup. Players in the age between sixteen and twenty are followed up individually, in addition to playing in good, competitive leagues for U17, U19 and U23. This way, players can go through the ranks before being called up to the B- or A-team. Being thrown into playing senior football prematurely can hurt a player’s development, and this way we can avoid this happening, says Nunes, who has a background at both SL Benfica and Sporting CP.
Clear strategy for integrating talents with academies
August Forbenius and Nicolai Skoglund both represent Norway at G16 level. This year, they both signed their professional contracts at Sporting CP. Nunes wishes to accomodate for even more Scandinavian talents to get recruited to top academies abroad through establishing a integration process early.
Through our partnership with Sporting, we can start integrating players with the academy from the age of thirteen. For players Sporting are interested in, we can organize several trials over a year. Also, they can represent Sporting in the many tournaments they compete in. For many of the players, this will be a huge benefit. But just as important – giving players the correct know-how and experiences to make their transition into foreign academies easier in the future.
READ ALSO: Your journey to Sporting CP starts here
From local training camps to trials at foreign clubs
According to Goncalo Nunes, the upcoming year will be an exciting one for players who wish to go far. In 2020, NF Academy will visit many new places and organize local training camps. Through these camps, local players will get the opportunity to parttake in international programs, where the best players will be given the chance to try out for some of the top academies in Europe.
We have been invited to a lot of exciting meetings, that give opportunities for our players to try out for different top academies. To make it possible for us to help players who aim to become professional, it is important that they get to experience different training setups and cultures. From next year on, our goal is to have players trial at top clubs in Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and England.
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