NFL Academy reveals tasty 2024-25 schedule
The NFL Academy’s UK programme unveiled an exciting four-game schedule for the coming season alongside its first training session of the year at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Loughborough-based Academy will look to build on promising results from last season, as well as the number of prospects it has helped propel onto college football rosters in the United States, by taking on four renowned US high school teams in the course of four months, starting in August.
The opening game, on August 15th, will pit the Academy’s youngsters against Edgewater Eagles, a Floridian high school that has been runner-up in the Florida State Championship five times. While that game will be held at Loughborough University, the team’s second outing, a week later on August 22nd, sees them travel to Oregon to take on Massillon Tigers for the first time, at no less than the prestigious Nike Kickoff Classic event. The Tigers are a decorated team that have accrued 25 State titles and nine national titles, and will be a great test for the NFL Academy.
Returning home ahead of the NFL International Series games in London, the third game on the slate sees the Academy hosting De La Salle Spartans — whose most notable alumnus, NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew, will be present — at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 8th. Last year at the same point of the season, the home side earned a comprehensive 35-0 victory over Erasmus Hall.
Wrapping up the schedule in November, the European side — which features 72 players from 19 different countries — will face off against the highly-regarded IMG Academy for the third straight year, this time in Munich. IMG won the first matchup between the two sides in 2022, with the NFL Academy exacting revenge last year.
The original NFL Academy opened in the UK in September 2019, with a second location opening on Australia’s Gold Coast this September. The programme offers talented student athletes (aged 16–19 in the UK and 12-8 Australia) a pathway to combine their full-time education with intensive training under the guidance of a professional coaching team.
Lamonte Winston (Head of NFL Academy) and Steve Hagenm(Head Coach) will continue to lead the UK programme, bringing NFL and college football experience and a shared ambition to create a world-class elite environment for students to succeed both on and off the field.
“The NFL Academy provides an incredible opportunity for talented young student athletes across the globe to take their first steps on their American football journey,” Winston said. “The elite football development programme is a key pillar of the NFL’s long-term commitment to global football development efforts, and we look forward to continuing to build a culture of success on and off the field, while creating more opportunities for young people in the programme, as we welcome our roster of student athletes for this upcoming academic year.”
NFL Academy UK 2024-25 schedule:
August 15: vs Edgewater Eagles Loughborough University
August 22: @ Massillon Tigers Nike Kickoff Classic, Oregon
October 8: vs De La Salle Spartans Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
November 8: vs IMG Academy Munich