STARLAB | Stars of Africa - Talent Identification and Development program

ABOUT STARS OF AFRICA

Africa has huge potential of extremely talented football players. Sadly, a lot of these talents in the middle of their prime time don’t get a chance to find their way to the top or have negative experiences with illegal scouts and agents who are not delivering what they promise. A European Commission’s Study on Sports Agents claimed that increasing numbers of young African males were undertaking very expensive clandestine journeys to Europe under the false pretence of a contract or trial with a professional football club.

FOOTBALL HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD

Stars of Africa is a continental independent talent development platform and is offering African talents a reliable, economic, realistic and well-structured pathway to live their dream of an international football star.

The main goal of the program is to identify and develop the most talented youth players of Africa and to give them an "ultimate star experience" by joining a yearly Stars of Africa tournament competing with the most talented youth players of Africa and some international guest teams. The first continental tournament is planned in the summer of 2023 or 2024 in the Cairo Olympic Stadium. Every year another African country is hosting the tournament.

"Africa has a huge potential of very talented football players. We strongly believe that a continental football development platform offers a great opportunity to open new pathways for the people of Africa; empowering kids to change their reality, perspective on life and become stars both on and off the field"

The program is designed by the Dutch Sports Development company StarLab under supervision of the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports in close cooperation with a pool of international youth coaches and performance trainers. It aims to give African talents the experience to live their dream of becoming an international football star and ignite them to further develop their talents.

SOCIAL IMPACT

Beside our football objectives, we aim to contribute to a better sports infrastructure in the country and to the social and economic development plans for increasing social cohesion, youth development, poverty reduction and sports participation in Africa.

Do you want more information to participate in the program as a youth football association, sponsor, club scout or football academy?

Visit: www.starsofafrica.eu contact our headquarters in the Netherlands.

Mr. Wouter Lagendijk

Managing director

- +31-6-32055558

HOW DOES IT WORK

The program gives African talents the experience to live their dream as a professional football player. By joining the continental program African kids get the chance to:

To train according to worldclass standards
To train and compete with the most talented youth players of the African continent
To change their perspective on life
To learn how it is to live abroad
To adapt themselves to a new culture
To live a high performance lifestyle
To showcase their talents to international club scouts

PROGRAM BENEFITS

The program has a lot of benefits for all stakeholders involved; such as Ministries of Youth and Sport, African Football academies, international club scouts and sponsors.

Football Academies: the platform is supporting academies to deliver a more attractive and promising pathway to their players.
Youth Coaches: Get supported to get the most out of their players. The Stars of Africa CoachingApp saves preparation time, makes it easier to evaluate players and make personal development plans so coaches can purely focus on the development of their players. With the CoachingApp also relatively inexperienced coaches are able to provide varied and structural exercises throughout the season, suitable by age and at a minimum of preparation time.
Players: the kids enjoy more structured, effective and focused training sessions and have the possibility to showcase their talents and compete with the best players of Africa.
International Club Scouts: the platform makes it easier and more economic for international club scouts to follow, select and sign the most talented players of Africa.
Ministries of Youth & Sports and Youth Football Associations: a more collective approach and promotional platform across the continent makes it more beneficial and economic for all African countries to further promote and develop their talent identification and development programs.
Sponsors: for sponsors with an interest in the growing African economy it is a good opportunity to increase their brand awareness and social impact.
The people of Africa: football is by far the most popular sport in Africa. The platform is uniting people across the continent, is creating new job opportunities and gives the African kids a platform to shine as a star.