The NFL Academy, the elite player NFL development programme, has announced games against three renowned U.S. high schools this autumn.
Based at Loughborough’s world-renowned centre of sporting excellence, and in partnership with Loughborough College and Loughborough University, the NFL Academy promotes world class performance and the development of elite player pathways.
The series of games will see the NFL Academy play Pennsylvania’s Bonner & Prendie in Dublin in August to kick off the new academic year before facing Florida based IMG Academy the Holywell Stadium, Loughborough, followed by New York’s Erasmus Hall in a match to be played at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, during the week of the NFL London Games in October.
These matches mark the first competitive games for the NFL Academy since the appointment of new NFL Academy Head Lamonte Winston and Head Coach Steve Hagen.
“The NFL Academy is an important part of the League’s long-term commitment to global football development efforts, helping create opportunities for talented young student athletes to play and thrive in the game,” said Winston. “Playing games against high schools of this calibre is indicative of our vision for the programme and we look forward to seeing some great football across these three games and the rest of our season.”
“Our current Academy players along with our incoming new players for this upcoming season are looking forward to these games,” added Hagen. “I’m personally looking forward to seeing how we compete. These games are fantastic opportunities to see our young men compete and grow.”
The first game in August against Bonner & Prendie, a Pennsylvania-based high school, will be hosted by the Global Ireland Football Tournament (GIFT) and coincides with the four-week recruitment camp for upcoming NFL Academy players, held at Loughborough College.
The NFL Academy opened in September 2019, and relocated to Loughborough in 2022. The programme aims to use American football to create life-changing opportunities for talented student athletes aged 16–19, offering a pathway to combine full-time education alongside a transformative life skills programme and intensive training in sport, under the guidance of a professional coaching team.
The upcoming academic year will see 61 student athletes from 13 different countries arrive in Loughborough to study and train with the support of Loughborough College and Loughborough University. Currently, nine former NFL Academy alumni play Division 1 NCAA college football at top schools including Tennessee, Temple, Colorado, Vanderbilt, Bryant, Mississippi State and Hawaii.