Spanish top-flight league LaLiga will kickstart a talent discovery programme in Lagos on Saturday (today) aimed at identifying eight young players for an elite development experience in Spain, as the league extends its global scouting network to Nigeria following its Japan leg.
LaLiga Next Gen Draft football project coordinator Carlos Casal told PUNCH Sports Extra that Nigeria was selected after research showed the country’s strong footprint in elite European football and the depth of its untapped talent pool.
‘At the beginning, we carried out research on how many players born in Africa are playing in the top leagues in Europe. Nigeria was in the top three, with about 25 to 26 players, alongside Senegal and Ivory Coast. That gave us a very clear clue’, he said.
‘Nigeria has a very large population and a very high percentage of young people, which tells us there is much more talent than what is currently being shown. There is already a big group of talented players, but because of the population, there is still a lot more to discover. That is why Nigeria is the right place to give opportunities to more people’.
Casal added that the project is designed as a long-term initiative and not a one-off event, stressing that participation is completely free.
‘This is a very important strategic project for LaLiga. This is the second year we are doing it, and we truly believe in it because it gives players the opportunity to play and show what they have. None of the players pay anything to participate. Everything is covered’, he said.
‘The mission is not to find the next Messi or the next Ronaldo. The goal is to bring football to the community and to the players. Nigeria was one of our first choices, and in the future, we want to commit to more countries across Africa. Hopefully, if the project continues, we would love to come back to Nigeria’.
Also talking to PUNCH Sports Extra about the event, Super Falcons defender Miracle Usani, a LaLiga global ambassador who signed with the LaLiga Academy in Madrid in 2023, urged young players to take advantage of the opportunity with discipline and focus.
‘I want to say a very big thank you for this opportunity. Programmes like this are very important for young players because this is also where I started my own journey. Today, I am here because of opportunities like this’, she said.
‘I am urging the young ones that if you really want to play football, you must stay focused. Focus on your football, focus on your studies and keep improving every day, because you might not get this opportunity again’.
The LaLiga FC Futures Next Gen Draft 2026 is being staged in collaboration with EA Sports, Nigeria’s third-tier league Nationwide League One and Legacy Sports, with activities taking place at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena.
The U-14 programme runs across Saturday and Sunday and brings together 24 teams, made up of twelve male and twelve female sides.
The Lagos trials will conclude on Sunday, when selected teams face one local male team and one local female team. From those final matches, four boys and four girls will be chosen to progress to the final phase of the programme, which includes a fully funded development experience in Spain later in the year.
