Nigeria, Mexico, Morocco, China and Japan Feature in LALIGA and EA SPORTS FC Next Gen Drafts 2026 Youth Development Programme in Spain

Nigeria has been included among five nations in the second edition of the LALIGA and EA SPORTS FC Next Gen Drafts 2026, a joint youth football development initiative that brought young talent from Nigeria, Mexico, China, Japan and Morocco to Spain for an elite training experience.

Eight Nigerian participants were selected through international scouting events — four boys and four girls — and taken to Spain for a high-performance residential camp that included training sessions with the academy sides of Sevilla FC, Real Betis and Atletico Madrid. The selection criteria extended beyond on-pitch ability, with organisers factoring in social circumstances to ensure the programme reached players who might not otherwise have access to elite football development pathways.

The camp opened on 25 June in Madrid with a welcome ceremony at LALIGA headquarters. Participants then travelled to Jerez, where the bulk of the training programme took place over several days. Beyond the sessions themselves, the young players attended educational workshops on player development and career planning, took part in cultural activities across Cádiz, Seville and Madrid, and visited prominent Spanish football venues including the Santiago Bernabéu (Real Madrid), Riyadh Air Metropolitano (Atletico Madrid) and Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan (Sevilla). A farewell ceremony in Madrid marked the conclusion of the programme.

Juan Florit, Head of Sporting Projects at LALIGA, commented on the programme’s trajectory: “We are very proud to see how Next Gen Drafts continues to grow internationally in its second year and how it is establishing itself as a genuine platform of opportunities for young people around the world. This final training camp in Spain perfectly reflects the impact football can have as a tool for education, integration and personal development.”

Next Gen Drafts sits within EA SPORTS FC’s broader FUTURES initiative, a long-term grassroots football investment spanning more than 15 partner programmes across more than 10 countries. The initiative also includes donations of football equipment to underprivileged communities, a free online training library that combines video game visuals with professional coaching guidance, and the refurbishment of football pitches in areas of need across Madrid, Málaga, Cape Town, São Paulo, Medellín and New York.

Nigeria’s place in the programme reflects the country’s established standing as one of Africa’s most productive football talent pipelines. The Super Eagles have a well-documented history of developing players who have reached the highest levels of the European game, from Jay-Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu through to current stars such as Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, who recently made the move to LaLiga from Italy. That lineage makes Nigeria a logical partner for a programme oriented around connecting emerging players with elite European football structures.

For the eight Nigerians who took part, the camp provided direct exposure to training methodologies and environments that are otherwise difficult to access from within the country. The programme’s organisers have framed the experience as a potential accelerant for the participants’ development, offering connections to European academies that could influence their professional trajectories in the years ahead.