What they never tell you about football academies in Africa

July 13, 2026

Illustration DAÖMEY MAGAZINE : silhouette de jeune footballeur tendant la main vers un but doré, sol fissuré en fragments géométriques

Each year, between 6,000 and 15,000 young Africans travel to Europe believing they will get a trial at a professional club. Most have never dealt with a real academy. They have paid a man who called himself an "agent," sometimes several thousand euros, the equivalent of a family's entire savings, for a trial that didn't exist. The failure rate for those who try their luck in Europe exceeds 70%, and some of them end up abandoned, undocumented, without a club, with no possibility of return. This is not an exception. It is the normal functioning of a parallel industry that has grown around the dream of African football, primarily targeting the families who believe in it the most.

The number that should alarm all families

Jean-Claude Mbvoumin, a former Cameroonian international, founded the association Culture Foot Solidaire in 2000 after seeing too many young people return broken from a "trial" in Europe. Since then, his association has collected over 600 testimonies and has come into contact with at least 800 young Africans abandoned in France by traffickers, intermediaries, or clubs. His observation is clear: the vast majority of young people who try their luck in Europe fail to become professionals, with a failure rate of around 70%.

On a continental scale, estimates speak of 6,000 to 15,000 young Africans falling victim to this system each year, under the guise of football opportunities. In 2011, an estimated 20,000 West African players were stranded in Europe after being abandoned by their "recruiters." In 2017, more than 100 young people from Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Togo were trafficked to Nepal, a country with no football tradition, proving that the lure is never football itself, but the promise of leaving.

How the scam works, concretely

The mechanism is almost always the same. A man who introduces himself as an agent or recruiter spots a young player, in a local tournament or increasingly on social media. He promises a trial at a European club, sometimes with a fake contract to back it up. He then demands fees for the visa, the ticket, "administrative procedures," something between 2,000 and 3,000 euros in Mali, for example, which is the equivalent of a lifetime of savings for a family. Once the money is paid, two scenarios: either the young person actually leaves, lands in Europe without a club, without papers, and without a return ticket, and finds themselves stranded in a foreign country. Or the money disappears with the agent, and the family never sees anything again.

This system thrives because it targets families who objectively have no way of verifying the legitimacy of an interlocutor who presents themselves with confidence, sometimes with a logo, a website, a European club name cited as a reference. Economic despair does the rest.

Illustration DAÖMEY MAGAZINE : composition scindée entre une académie de foot légitime et une structure fictive qui s'effondre — On one side a solid structure, on the other an empty shell. The difference is almost never visible from the outside.

500 academies in Accra alone, 90% without any legitimacy

The problem is not limited to individual fake agents. It affects the very structure of the offer. As early as 2008, observers counted about 500 football "academies" in Accra, Ghana, alone, 90% of which were run by men with limited or no experience in high-level football. Many of these structures are not licensed, affiliated with a federation, or supervised by anyone. They charge families for coaching, accommodation, and access to "recruiters," without any guarantees behind it.

It is this proliferation that makes it difficult for families to sort through: between a serious academy and an empty shell, the difference is almost never visible from the outside.

Why FIFA prohibits the transfer of minors

It is no coincidence that Article 19 of FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players prohibits, with specific exceptions, the international transfer and first registration of a player under the age of 18 at a club located in another country. This rule exists precisely to prevent minors from being moved thousands of kilometers from home based solely on the promise of a club, only to be abandoned without protection or legal status. It has also been applied to major clubs: in 2014, FC Barcelona was banned from recruiting for two transfer windows and fined 450,000 Swiss francs for registering ten minor players in violation of this rule, some of whom came from South Korea and the United States.

In other words: if an "agent" offers a minor the chance to directly join a European club, they are offering something that FIFA itself prohibits in the vast majority of cases. This is often the simplest red flag to spot.

Real academies exist: here are the benchmarks

None of this means that African training leads nowhere. Serious academies exist, and they have proven their worth. Right to Dream, founded in Ghana more than twenty years ago, has trained over 150 professional players, including more than 40 internationals, such as Mohammed Kudus (West Ham) and Kamaldeen Sulemana (Southampton). Diambars, in Senegal, founded by Patrick Vieira and Bernard Lama, notably launched Idrissa Gueye and Pape Matar Sarr into Ligue 1. ASEC Mimosas, in Ivory Coast, remains a historical reference, with alumni like Yaya Touré, Didier Zokora, and Gervinho.

What distinguishes these structures from dubious academies: they combine sports training with real schooling, they are affiliated with a federation, they never ask families to pay to "guarantee" a trial in Europe, and their former students are publicly verifiable. A serious academy builds a player over several years. It never sells a shortcut.

Illustration DAÖMEY MAGAZINE : silhouette de jeune footballeur debout, ancré au sol, sous une lumière dorée de stade — The real path is built over several years, not on a bank transfer.

This is the kind of truth we want to highlight at DAÖMEY: not to crush the dream, but to ensure that the families who believe in it the most are also the best informed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to recognize a fake football academy in Africa?

The most reliable warning signs: you are asked for money to "guarantee" a trial or a transfer to Europe, the academy is not affiliated with any federation, it cannot cite any verifiable former students, and it proposes sending a minor alone abroad without a schooling framework or legal supervision.

Can a minor legally sign with a European club?

In the vast majority of cases, no. Article 19 of FIFA's regulations prohibits the international transfer of players under 18, with very limited exceptions (e.g., family relocation for non-football reasons). Any proposal circumventing this rule should immediately raise an alarm.

What to do if my family is offered a paid trial in Europe?

Never pay money before verifying the legal existence of the club and the intermediary with the national football federation. Associations like Culture Foot Solidaire, founded by former Cameroonian international Jean-Claude Mbvoumin, support families facing such proposals.

Which African academies are recognized as reputable?

Right to Dream (Ghana), Diambars (Senegal), and ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast) are among the most respected academies on the continent, with a verifiable history of players who have become professionals and international players.