Nike Football Academy
| Full name | Nike Academy |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Academy |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Ground |
St George's Park Burton upon Trent, England |
| Capacity | 3,100 |
| League | Friendlies |
 Official logo
|
The Nike Football Academy is an English football academy funded and administered by Nike, Inc.. The academy has a revolving squad of unsigned under-20 players and is run with the intention of helping them find a professional club. The academy is currently based at St George's Park National Football Centre. The squad is made up of players scouted worldwide and drafted to the squad through Nike Most Wanted trials. Over 50 players have gone on to play professional football over the years. The programme is led by Manager Jon Goodman, with former Wolverhampton Wanderers player Matt Murray working as Assistant Manager.
The programme is also known for its collaborations with world class professional players, most notably Sami Khedira, Joe Hart, Rio Ferdinand, Francesco Totti, Mario Gotze and others.
Players such as David Accam, Tom Rogic, Majeed Waris, Petar Golubovic and Sergio Galeano are graduates of the programme.
The Academy regularly play teams like FC Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Manchester United and others.
After Jorge Grant signed for Nottingham Forest F.C., Jose Figuera, Kirill Laptev and Saife Alami Bazza were given a trial to replace him.
Wallace Camilo, David Fernandes and Melusi Zulu ended up not going with the team on the Nike "The Chance" tour. To replace them the following three contestants were brought in:
...
Wikipedia