The scouts are coming

Young Namibian footballers will have a chance to impress scouts and book their ticket for the path to professional football as several scouts from Scocca Dream Academy are headed to Windhoek to find some talent from 25 to 29 May. The academy has developed a formalised Socca Dream scouting programme in Africa with regular sessions held across Africa, from Johannesburg, Lusaka (Zambia), Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) Accra (Ghana) and Windhoek. Having already had activations in Italy, Spain, Hungary and South Africa, Namibia will for the first time be part of the initiative. Former Namibia Football Association president Isak Fredericks, who has been in contact with Socca Dream Academy, is optimistic that the presence of the scouts will bring change in Namibia. “I have connected with these guys for a year and they have decided to work with me. It is good for our football and for the development of our young players. "These guys are very interested in Namibian footballers and this will be a good platform. “Namibian football has been neglected and that is why it is important to bring guys of such experience to help the young football aspirants,” Fredericks said. A maximum of 120 players in the age groups 15, 19 and 21 will take part in the football clinic, with scouts and coaches from overseas working together over a period of four days to select the best players who will then travel to Europe for trials. “We tailor our scouting programme at Socca Dream to be culturally relevant and specific to the needs of the players. “By integrating international coaches into scouting clinics, it forms the spine of our scouting model, which opens the window of opportunities for upcoming stars,” the organisers said in a statement. The camp is expected to work on character development as well as to measure the discipline level of the players in attendance, with a panel of highly qualified coaches spearheading the programmes. The academy is affiliated to top clubs around the world , including Italian Serie A’s Genoa, Chievo Verona, Carpi (Serie B) , Entella (Serie C), Modena (Serie D), Folgore (Serie D) and many other teams in Italy. “The focus will be to give knowledge on being a footballer, creating a support system and giving more information about how to become a footballer. “We will also touch on topics like discipline on and off the field , the main challenges that footballers can have in their career, coachability and positive attitude towards their career.” The management team of Socca Dream consists of Italian Fifa agent Aris Albetti, South African professional footballer Dino Ndlovu, who plays at Chinesse Club Zhejiang, and South African journalist Sduduzo Masubuku.