Football today is a game everyone would want to part-take in, there are lovers of football all around the globe, this particular game is loved by many. A football academy is a very essential institution for the grooming of young footballers.
In Nigeria, there is a number of these academies which offer this training. However, to get the best training or facilities, it will require you to go to one of the best football academies. In our bid to give you a guide on this, we will enumerate and highlight the top ten best football academies that are available in the country.
A football academy is an institution and a facility set up to develop young footballers. Most often, it is thought of as a training school to teach young players how to play football. These football academies are situated under football teams in which the footballers will be trained. This will help these new players to meet the club’s specific standards.
Below are the top 10 Football Academies in Nigeria
The Nigeria football club lacks good facilities to train players professionally, however, some of the best players that come out of any football team go the extra mile to achieve their goals. Nevertheless, there is a good football academy with a good coaching system.
Here are the top 10 Football Academies in Nigeria.
PEPSI FOOTBALL ACADEMY (PFA)
The Pepsi Football Academy is practically the best in Nigeria and it is owned by the popular beverage, Pepsi. This well-known football academy provides talented and skilled youngsters the opportunity to develop their careers within the football industry.
Some prominent footballers that emerged from Pepsi Football Academy include the likes of Mikel Obi and Elderson Echiejile just to mention a few. Pepsi also gives scholarships to students of its academy to study in the UK.
Originally based in Lagos at Agege Stadium, Pepsi academy now has 14 centers across the country and has over 3000 students. The fee for Pepsi Football Academy Registration Form for those aged five to fourteen is ₦6,000 only.
KWARA STATE FOOTBALL ACADEMY (KWFA)
This is another top soccer academy owned by the Kwara state government and established in 2005. The Kwara State Football Academy is the initiative of Bukola Saraki. The academy commenced operations with former Nigeria national team technical adviser, Clemence Westerhof and is now managed by a Swedish technical director, Paul Ashworth.
Ashworth has managed many professional teams in Europe including Dynamo Kyiv and FC Peterborough. The academy has 7 other coaches, who are former Nigeria International footballers with coaching certificates.
The academy currently has over 150 students and accepts young talented footballers between the ages of 13 – 21 years.
ABUJA FOOTBALL COLLEGE (AFC)
Abuja Football College was established in December 2012 by Gabriel Newton who is also FIFA Licensed instructor, in partnership with Haruna Abba. This Nigerian football academy has what it takes to be among the best in the country.
AFC recently has won the FCT Federations cup and represented Abuja at the national level. It won the under 20 unity football competition tagged FCT 2013, beating years like Pepsi Academy, Kwara state academy…
AFC training center in an exclusive location at Wuse, Abuja Municipals Bwari, has a residential suite that can accommodate 120 students. It also has a college with Wendy Cameron as the principal. The college runs USA educational curriculum.
MIDAS SOCCER ACADEMY (MSA)
Midas Football Academy Nigeria was established in December 2006 to discover young soccer talents in Nigeria and the rest of Africa and make them better persons in society, the academy is affiliated with the Nigeria Football Federation.
PAPILO FOOTBALL ACADEMY
Owned by one of Nigeria’s greatest footballers Nwankwo Kanu who played with Ajax, Inter Milan, Arsenal, and Portsmouth and has a lot of medals to his name. Papilo Football Academy was founded in 2001.
PNKFA has succeeded in transferring over 10 players abroad. Notable names include Joel Obi of Inter Milan and Stanley Okoro of Battista, who is nicknamed ‘Little Messi.’
Kanu uses his connections to bring in Top international coaches like Bryan Robson, Gary Smith… to train the students on short courses. The academy has over 200 players in Nwankwo Kanu’s private estate at Egbu Owerri road.
Kanu is also reportedly said to be building one of the biggest football academies in Africa and the academy is open to Under 15, under 17, under 19 students.
BARCELONA FOOTBALL ACADEMY IN NIGERIA
Barcelona Football Academy in Nigeria is another well-known school that is anxious to show you how to use your skills to play the best football game. This institution requires that you must be at any rate 5 years of age or as long as 18 years of age.
Situated in the city of Lagos, those young children who in Lagos who are interested in a football career, should study here. This is on the off chance that they have football aptitudes or abilities.
CHELSEA FOOTBALL ACADEMY IN NIGERIA
The London club also has an academy to groom young talents in Nigeria. As a top football academy in Nigeria, they have the best trainers to aid you in honing your soccer skills. If you certainly have plans to play football at an elevated level, then you should dream about joining the popular Chelsea football academy.
Notwithstanding, it is situated in London (the UK). In 2012, there was some good news about Chelsea having plans to dispatch its football academy in Nigeria.
If you want to go to this football academy, it would seem that you need to make a trip to London. An then, you will be able to join the Chelsea football academy for young ladies and men who wants the best football training
ABUJA FOOTBALL COLLEGE
Alternatively called AFC, this football academy was established about eight years back, in 2012. Gabriele Volpi remains behind the possibility of such a school for capable young men from everywhere in the nation. Normally, Abuja football college is situated in the city, however, it additionally has other centers in Lagos, Onne, and Warri.
Nonetheless, if you are gifted in football, you can enroll in this place and build up your football abilities and entirely your career. Also, being an understudy of this Football College can allow you to play for the school group competition and partake in various national competitions.
EDUSKO SPORTS ACADEMY
You can pick this Nigerian football academy if you have plans to acquainted with the professional football game. Edusko sports academy was set up by a notable footballer Chief Segun Odegbami in 2007. It is at present a standout amongst other soccer and sports institutes. It invites skilled youth from various parts of the country.
This football academy centers around various games, including football. Notwithstanding this major, the students can decide to get some knowledge of tennis, b-ball or take different courses.
LITTLE TIGERS FC
This is yet another reliable football academy to groom young talents in the country. Little children who have turned three years of age and love football games can enter the Little Tigers FC and begin their career training.
This club additionally invites young people who are as long as 15 years of age. On the off chance that you are interested in the institution, you should visit their website for more information on how to enroll in.
HOW MANY FEES DO FOOTBALL ACADEMIES CHARGE TO REGISTER
The amount to pay to register your children into any of these top Nigerian Football Academies is dependent upon the duration of the training and the academy in question. For example, to join Pepsi Football Academy, you have to pay ₦6,000 for the form. Registration fee into any of these soccer academies ranges from ₦6,000 to ₦10,000.