A total of 20 students from Nigeria recently visited The David Beckham Academy to attend a five day soccer camp.

David Beckham is one of the most respected and admired footballers in the world and football hero to many aspiring youngsters.  He set up the David Beckham  Academy to offer others the same chances that he enjoyed as a boy. The Academy aims to help young footballers pursue their passion for the game by providing tips, hints and training opportunities. The Academy is based in Greenwich, London and was opened in 2005.

This was the first time Nigerian football youth stars attended the soccer training course.  The Soccer Camp included coaching drills, classroom activities, team building exercises and mini tournaments. At the end of the five day course, a certificate and medals were given to each participant.

The tour was organised by Fane International Sports Tours Ltd. based in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.  The organisation arranges tailor-made sports tours and tournament entry for clubs, schools and universities to European and Worldwide destinations.

Olubiyi Fadeyi, CEO of Fane International Sports Tours says, “We try to ensure that the youths get the maximum benefit from their tour.  So in addition to the main event which was the soccer camp at the David Beckham Academy, we also factored in other educational and leisure activities including an educational tour to The Royal Air Force Museum, The British library, The British Museum, BBC multimedia tour and a memorable state room visit to the Buckingham palace.  The boys had a great time in the UK and our accommodation at the YHA Youth Hostel was very comfortable.  Although we did not get to meet David Beckham in person, we were delighted that his father, Ted Beckham, was on hand to spend time with us and present the medals.”

A spokesperson for the Guide2Nigeria.com website where the story was originally published says, “When I was approached by Mr Fadeyi to publish the story on our website I was very impressed by the cause and it’s great to see good news about Nigeria and our youth.  This also ties in nicely as Nigeria is currently hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup across the nation from October 24 to November 15, so it is worth noting that there are many up and coming Nigerian youths interested in the game.”