Lionel Messi recently picked up his 7th Ballon D’Or award and his name is on everyone’s lips. Cristiano Ronaldo has 5 and he’s one of the most popular people in the world; in fact, he’s the most popular person on social media platforms. All these show how big football is?
Do you want to become as big as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo? While that may seem impossible, everyone is free to dream. You have a better chance of making that dream come through if you’re with the best trainers.
Fortunately, there are quality football academies in Nigeria you can join to get the exposure you need. Check out the top 10 best football academies in Nigeria.
- Pepsi Football Academy
The Pepsi Football Academy is a quality football academy and one of the most popular in Nigeria. It trains footballers between 6 to 18 years and currently has more than 3,000 registered students. The academy is based in Lagos but has 14 other training centers in different parts of Nigeria.
The Pepsi Football Academy has produced some of Nigeria’s best football talents including former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi, Sunday Mba, and Joseph Akpala. The academy is close to 30 years old so they’re well experienced.
- Abuja Football Academy
This academy started in 2012 with the aim of producing world class talents from Nigeria. The academy is famous for their 2-legged game with the 2013 AFCON-winning Super Eagles squad. While the first leg was a draw, they held the champions at a draw in the second.
The Abuja Football Academy was founded by Nigerian businessmen and has upcoming football talents from 15 to 18 years of age. They often award their students scholarships to go overseas, Europe particularly, and learn modern football tactics.
- Kwara State Football Academy
The Kwara State Football Academy was launched by the Kwara State Government during the Dr. Bukola Saraki administration. That was in 2005 and since then, the academy is living up to their vision to discover young talents in Nigeria and Africa.
The target is for football talents between the ages of 10 and 20. This academy also aims to make Kwara state the center of football in Nigeria. It’s one of the best football academies in Nigeria for skills development. All coaches at the academy are all former players with coaching certificates.
- Papilo Football Academy
You can guess who owns this academy and you’ll be 100% right. The football academy is owned by Nwankwo Kanu, aka Papilo, who captained Nigeria to multiple international successes and played for top European teams. The academy was opened in 2000.
This academy is a home for young football talents. It’s not just an academy but also a club and they’ve won the State FA Cup once while reaching the final on two other occasions. The academy is currently based in Owerri.
- Midas Soccer Academy
The Midas Soccer Academy was launched in 2006 with the aim to provide the best coaching and football training facilities to promising talents. The academy is just like a secondary school with junior and senior teams and a 120 student’s capacity hostel.
Not only is Midas Soccer Academy focused on developing Nigerian talents, they also target talents across Africa. Once you join this academy, your profile becomes available to football agents and scouts. The Midas Soccer Academy is based in Lagos.
- Real Madrid Academy
You can remember the picture of Governor Wike with Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, and a few other Real Madrid stars at the time; all of it was about the Real Madrid Football Academy in Port Harcourt.
The academy is directly affiliated with Real Madrid, the most successful European club. If you plan very well, you can make it to the Santiago Bernabeu. The Real Madrid Academy in Port Harcourt and another in Morocco are the two only Real Madrid academies in Africa.
- FC Barcelona Academy (FCBescola)
FCBescola is the official FC Barcelona Academy in Nigeria and it opened in Lagos in 2017. The academy was launched by The FC Barcelona Lagos Supporter’s Club and is directly affiliated with the club in Spain. It’s the first FC Barcelona academy from a supporter’s club.
You can join this football academy as a boy or a girl. The academy aims at providing all round football training to produce players that can perform at international scale.
- Juventus Academy (J-Academy)
In Lagos, you’ll find the Juventus Academy stylized as J-Academy. This academy wants to grow the dreams of upcoming footballers with the help of UEFA accredited coaches.
Players in this academy get the chance to feature in the Juventus Academy Cup that is held in Turin, Italy, every year. The academy focuses on improving style of play, technical ability, and tactical ability, among others.
- Paris Saint Germain (PSG) Academy (Carat24)
The PSG Academy, officially known as the Carat24 Football Academy is number 9 on this list of best football academies in Nigeria. It was established by Tony Ifeanyi Onwubiko who’s the owner of the Carat24 Business Hotels & Suites.
Hence, the academy is more of a partnership between French club Paris Saint Germain, and the Carat24 establishment. The academy launched not long after the FCBescola – FC Barcelona – academy in Nigeria.
- Siaone Soccer Academy
Former Super Eagles star man Samson Sia Sia is the owner of this Abuja-based football academy. Like other football academies, the Siaone Soccer Academy aims at developing elite footballers from youth level.
Bottom Line
All top footballers started somewhere, from football academies. If you’re in Nigeria, you can too by joining any of the 10 best football academies in Nigeria listed above.