For the third 12 months, Nike and the NFL will associate to host highschool soccer occasions to rejoice the start of the youth season. This 12 months, it comes with an extra ingredient: The boys sport can be a global matchup.
Washington Excessive Faculty (Massillon, Ohio) will tackle The NFL Academy primarily based in the UK because the league works to develop its following to a broader worldwide base. Washington Massillon, which has had a soccer crew since 1894, in line with the occasion’s press launch, has the second-most wins in highschool soccer historical past (948) and is coming off an undefeated, 16-0 season.
Washington Massillon completed No. 10 within the 2023 USA TODAY Sports Tremendous 25. (USA TODAY Community)
The NFL Academy, which has a location in the UK and in Australia, is a soccer improvement program providing intensive coaching alongside full-time schooling. In whole, 30 alumni have obtained a soccer scholarship in america, 19 of whom performed for a Div. I program.
On the ladies facet, De La Salle Excessive Faculty (La.) will tackle South Anchorage Excessive Faculty (Alaska) in a flag soccer sport. De La Salle is coming off an undefeated championship season underneath the New Orleans Saints Ladies Excessive Faculty Flag Soccer league, and South Anchorage went 12-4 in its inaugural season final 12 months, in line with MaxPreps.
These video games will happen on the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, on Aug. 22. Every can be live-streamed on the NFL YouTube channel and then aired once more on the NFL Community on Aug. 31.
Over the previous two years, Nike and the NFL have used this sport as a possibility to introduce athletes to the enterprise facet of sports activities in the Nike amenities, present mentoring and coaching alternatives, and develop flag soccer on the grassroots degree.
“Growing things from a grassroots standpoint shows that you care about the future of the game in a tangible way, and celebrating it by actually playing a game on (Nike’s) campus is the best tribute to that,” stated Roman Oben, a former NFL participant who’s the vp of NFL Soccer Growth, in an interview final 12 months.
That may proceed this 12 months, with the worldwide sport included into the programming for the primary time.
Along with this occasion, the NFL Academy has extra video games lined up in opposition to highschool groups. Edgewater (Fla.), De La Salle (Harmony, Calif.) and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) will all journey to Europe to play in opposition to the academy throughout the season.
