The Nike Football Academy was an English football academy funded and administered by Nike, Inc. The academy had a revolving squad of unsigned under-20 players and was run with the intention of helping them find a professional club. The academy was based at St George's Park National Football Centre. The squad was 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 was led by manager Jon Goodman, with former Wolverhampton Wanderers player Matt Murray who worked as assistant manager.Inside the Nike Academy: the branded alternative for reaching the big time on The Guardian
The programme was also known for its collaborations with world class players, including Sami Khedira, Joe Hart, Rio Ferdinand, Francesco Totti, Mario Götze and others. Players such as David Accam, Tom Rogić, Majeed Waris, Petar Golubović and Evan Dimas are graduates of the programme.
The academy regularly played exhibition matches facing teams like FC Barcelona,Nike Academy vs FC Barcelona, 24 February 2015 Arsenal,The Arsenal test by Huw Davies on Four Four Two, 8 February 2012 Inter Milan,Nike Academy vs Inter Manchester United and others.
The academy closed at the end of the 2016–17 season.
Technical staff Name RoleNikeAcademy.com Jon Goodman Head coach Matt Murray Assistant coach Jesús Vázquez Featured player Lautaro Alegrini Featured player Jacob Donnely Jugador Destacado Utku Kolkoparan Headcoach of Turkey
Notable participants
Dejan Pandurevic Tom Rogic Dario Van den Buijs Alvin Fortes Josip Juranović Conor Branson Sean Clare David Goldsmith Jorge Grant Rarmani Edmonds-Green Billy Ions Alex Parsons Jordan Rose Bilal Sayoud Ryan Sellers Jordan Tillson Jordan Tunnicliffe Alex Whittle Fabian Senninger David Accam Rolland Appiah Abdul Majeed Waris Dimitris Komnos Evan Dimas Muhammad Rafli Shazuan Ashraf Mathews Saifeddine Alami Ismail H'Maidat Brahim Sabaouni Alexis André Jr. Delvin Pinheiro Frederico Lars Herlofsen Myer Bevan Kayro Flores Heatley Fernando Canales José Guidino Matty Cash Maksim Boychuk Artemi Ukomsky Siriki Dembélé Youssef Ezzejjari Ignacio Varona Petar Golubović Cameron Edwards Reyaad Pieterse Moon Seon-min Anfernee Dijksteel Pontus Almqvist Apirat Heemkhao Napapon Sripratheep Gonzalo Balbi Ahmad Chaudhry
References