For final 16 players,
the ultimate training tour includes matches against academy teams from
Manchester United, Juventus and U.S. Soccer.
More than 100,000
players from 55 countries around the world participated in Nike’s The Chance in 2012,
culminating in the best 100 participating in an intense training and competition
schedule based at FC Barcelona’s famed youth academy. The top 16 players,
including South Africa’s Charlie Tsotetsi, will now embark on a six-week global
training tour, playing some of the most renowned academy teams in the world
including Manchester United, Juventus and a U.S. National Team Youth squad.
Nike’s The Chance is a
unique global talent search that gives amateur footballers the chance to prove
themselves on an elite stage and take their game to the next level. One player
from the 16 finalists on the tour will ultimately join the Nike Academy – a
full-time player academy based in England and supported by the FA Premier
League.
The final 16 players
kicked off their global tour at Nike’s World Headquarters in Oregon, U.S., and
went through a series of intense training and elite testing during their first
week on tour in preparation for upcoming games. Players were assessed through
Nike SPARQ, a training and conditioning system that helps build better
athletes.
"The Chance
offers young players from around the world a great opportunity to showcase
their talent and develop their skills on a global stage,” said French football
legend Laurent Blanc, who spent time with the players in Barcelona. "These
16 finalists have proved their ability during the global finals at FC
Barcelona, now they have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to test their skills
against some world-class players who are part of established academy
teams."
The 16 finalists will
benefit from an extended team of elite coaches, nutritionists and fitness
conditioners throughout the tour, to ensure they arrive at each game focused
and in peak condition. Each match will represent a chance for players to catch
the eye of leading club coaches in the game.
During the tour, the
team will also experience the cultural diversity of each place they train and
play in cities ranging from Los Angeles to Turin, Italy and Manchester, United
Kingdom.
“From the intense
atmosphere of FC Barcelona’s training ground these 16 players have shown the
maturity, skill and attitude to take their game to the next level,” said Jimmy
Gilligan, Head Coach of Nike's The Chance global tour. “The challenge now is to
take that experience, unify as a team and compete against some of the best young
players in the world. This is their chance to step up and get noticed at the
highest level of the game.”
Since the start of The
Chance competition 16 players have turned their participation into a
professional club contract. The most recent, Tom Rogic from Australia, signed
for Scottish Champions Celtic FC and recently played for the Australia national
team.
Aspiring young players
can follow The Chance global tour via Nike’s Football Facebook page and via @NikeFootball on Twitter.
The 16 finalists on the tour are as follows:
Ismail H’Maidat
(Belgium), Dario Van Den Buijs (Belgium), Dimitris Komnos (Greece), Marco
Vinicius Di Lauro (Italy), Ryosuke Kinoshita (Japan), Kirill Laptev (Russia),
Petar Golubovic (Serbia), Teboho Charlie Tsotetsi (South Africa), Saifeddine
Alami Bazza (Spain), Gonzalo Balbi (Spain), Bubakary Sonko (Sweden), Jose
Figura (United Kingdom), Brian Iloski (United States), Kevin Salazar Chiquiza
(Colombia), Joel Bravo (Ecuador) and Fernando Canales (Peru).
The final player
selected from the global tour will join the Nike Academy, based at Loughborough
University in the United Kingdom, on March 1st for the remainder of the season.
The Nike Academy plays a series of fixtures against FA Premier League reserve
and academy teams.
