Barcelona Football Academy in Nigeria: Clear Guide On How To Join

The Barcelona Football Academy in Nigeria (FCBESCOLA) was birthed in 2016 but officially launched in 2017, through the approval of then governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode.

FC Barcelona Officially Lauches Soccer Academy In Lagos. https://t.co/1xs1Cly7LP pic.twitter.com/74A7ebksE8

— Channels Television (@channelstv) February 28, 2017

The academy known as La Masia (the farmhouse) is located in Catalonia, but  the club's desire to establish other academies in some areas over the world through the FCBESCOLA program, gave rise to its first branch in Africa, and Lagos, Nigeria was chosen.

The director of business and member of FC Barcelona management board, Pau Vilanova Vila-Abadal said FC Barcelona decided to establish its academy in Lagos due to the impressive population of the state, and the opportunity to share the philosophy of the team with the state and country at large.

The Catalan giants are among the few big clubs that are known for its desire to develop grassroot players through its youth system which was made famous by the legendary Johan Cruyff, a Dutch legend who introduced La Masia academy in Barcelona, and also brought about a lasting revolution to attacking football as we know it today.

Just in case you don't know, La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, has produced famous superstars of the game since its inception. Great players like Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Victor Valdes, Pedro Rodriguez and even current young Barcelona players like Gavi and Pedri were all products of La Masia.

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What is the Aim of the Barcelona Football Academy in Nigeria?

FC Barcelona has 5 goals in mind to create a football academy in Nigeria:

1. To teach and improve both basic and football-specific coordination skills.
2. To bring FC Barcelona's vision of technical and tactical elements of the sport to Nigeria.
3. To offer necessary formal education to its students in line with the educational curriculum of Nigeria.
4. To develop sportsmanship 
5. To provide opportunities for young aspiring footballers to grasp the methods, values and philosophy of FC Barcelona.

Barcelona Football Academy in Nigeria: Requirements to Join

• Applicants must be within the age brackets of 6 to 18 years of age.
• Applicants must have a valid identification certificate showing that he or she is a Nigerian.
• Applicants must not have health challenges that are life-threatening.

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FCBESCOLA Lagos Training

Training at the Barcelona football academy in Nigeria follows similar training techniques, operations, training sessions and methodology from FC Barcelona first team and the youth academy.

Youngsters from FC Barcelona Lagos Academy are Spain to showcase their talent for the first time at #donosticup. #fcbescola pic.twitter.com/aSynMBGsBq

— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) July 2, 2017

A Technical Director from the club hierarchy from Catalonia is assigned to be in charge of administering and implementing the technical, tactical, physical and physiological training during the entire season. The current technical director of the Barcelona football academy in Lagos is Mr Jorge Couto.

Learning of various languages as part of its academic training is allowed and they include: English, Spanish, French and other European Languages, used by football stars worldwide.

Barcelona Football Academy in Nigeria: Programs Offered

The Barcelona academy in Nigeria offers two programs for its students, the competitive and the technification programs.

Competitive Program

The Competitive Program has two sections:

• Participants in the age bracket of 6-14 years. This section has two training sessions per week.
• Participants in the age bracket of 14-16 years. This section has three training sessions per week and a match every weekend.

The training and player development is highly monitored by the coaches and staff. The best players only are picked in this category after the end of the program. This category is not open for children outside the academy.

Technification Program

It is a supplementary program designed to improve students' individual techniques in football. In this program, training sessions are held once a week for children in the age bracket of 6-18 years, and it’s open to children outside the academy.

Barcelona Football Academy in Nigeria: How to Join

1. First, you need to pay for registration forms sold whenever FCBESCOLA begins trials at the Teslim Balogun stadium in Surulere, Lagos. The form costs ₦13,500. 
2. Stopover at any GTBank branch or you can use their mobile app and make use of the FCBESCOLA Lagos option under the customized deposit option on the GTMobile app to make payment.
3. Show your proof of payment at the Teslim Balogun Stadium and collect your registration form.
4. Provide the necessary details asked on the form.
5. Make the necessary documents requested available and collect your registration receipt.

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Other Things You Should Know

Filling and submitting the FCBESCOLA registration form is no guarantee for automatic admission to the Barcelona Football Academy.

Submitting the FCBESCOLA registration form only allows you to participate in the trial session conducted for everyone who purchased the form, after which the best would be chosen and granted admission into the Barcelona football academy in Nigeria.

You can acquire formal education at FCBESCOLA alongside your football training. The following examination certificates are obtainable whilst training at FCBESCOLA, Lagos:

1. West African School Certificate Examinations [WASC]
2. National Examination Certificate [NECO]
3. International General Certificate of Secondary Education [IGCSE]
4. Test of English as Foreign Language [TOEFL]
5. The International Baccalaureate [IB]

FCBESCOLA Lagos Contact Details

To get in touch with FCBESCOLA regarding questions or more information, kindly use the following contact details below:

Phone: +2349062259436 | +2349030000931

Email: [email protected]

Address: Teslim Balogun Stadium Complex, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria.