OUR APPROACH
WE BELIEVE IN DEVELOPING GREAT PEOPLE, NOT JUST GREAT FOOTBALLERS.
THAT'S WHY OUR MODEL IS BUILT ON THREE CORE PILLARS:
FOOTBALL
EDUCATION
CHARACTER
THESE PILLARS SHAPE OUR APPROACH, CENTERED AROUND PARTNERING WITH TALENT, SUPPORTING THEIR GROWTH, AND CREATING PATHWAYS TO THRIVE ON AND OFF THE PITCH.
PARTNERING WITH TALENT
At the heart of our approach is the belief that excellence can be found anywhere, and that’s why we don’t limit ourselves to traditional talent hotspots. Our scouts are trained to identify young talents with exceptional footballing abilities, educational potential, and the right character no matter where they are. We believe that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. Our scouting network cover over 180 communities, and we scout over 100,000 kids every year searching for talents that might be overlooked by others.
NURTURING ENVIRONMENTS
Once we partner with talents, we immerse them in nurturing environments in our residential academies that offer them the opportunity to unlock their potential on and off the pitch. We are committed to developing our young student-athletes holistically through a transformative program that includes elite-level football training, a structured academic curriculum, and a character development program. Our holistic model ignites their potential and sets them on the path to achieving their dreams not just in football, but in all aspects of their lives.
PATHWAYS
We believe excellence comes in many forms. That's why we provide our dreamers with the tools they need to chart their own futures, while ensuring every student has a clear pathway to an athletic, academic, or vocational future. So, after six years with us, they choose their pathway:
PRO
FOOTBALL
Right to Dream has earned a global reputation for developing elite young footballers, with a track record that places us among the top in the world for producing players for Europe’s best leagues.
The International Academy represents the foundation of our pro football pathway. It provides a two-year high-performance football development experience for student-athletes from all our academies who are ready to pursue a pro football career. It offers intensive elite-level training, nurturing not just technical and tactical excellence, but also personal growth providing them with what it takes to reach their potential in life.
The players get to continue their development journey, gain valuable game time, and prepare for new challenges by stepping into one of our own professional clubs, including FC Nordsjælland, San Diego FC, and FC Masar, or by moving on to other top clubs in global football.
This pathway has produced tens of pro footballers, including the likes of Ibrahim Osman and Ernest Nuamah who have gone to make their mark in Europe's top leagues.
EDUCATION
The International Student-Athlete Pathway empowers high-achieving girls and boys across our academies to pursue world-class education, while football remains an integral part of their journey. It’s a pathway designed to nurture the next generation of leaders, both on and off the pitch.
We identify student-athletes who excel academically and meet our character development milestones, connecting them with full scholarship opportunities in the United States and the United Kingdom. Since our first scholarship in 2004, we’ve built strong partnerships with 80 leading high schools, colleges, and universities.
OPPORTUNITIES
To date, over 100 of our student-athletes have made their mark on the field and in the classroom, including Shakur Mohammed, who graduated from Duke University and now plays for Orlando City, and Joy Okonye and Nadja Meite, who are currently at Brown University, an Ivy League school. Others have continued their journeys at top institutions such as Stanford University, UCLA, Dartmouth College, Georgetown University, the University of Michigan, and Amherst College. At the high school level, our student-athletes have attended prestigious schools including Hotchkiss, Taft, Canterbury, Choate, Millbrook, and the Cate School.
When our students head abroad, they’re supported every step of the way by the Right to Dream USA team and a dedicated network of host families, partner schools, volunteers, and alumni, ensuring they feel safe and supported as they take on this exciting new chapter of their lives.