FRENCH FOOTBALL ACADEMY

The French Football Federation (FFF) is the governing body of soccer in France.

The FFF oversees the prestigious men’s National Team, World Champions in 1998 and 2018, as well as the famous Centre Technique National Fernand Sastre, more commonly known as Clairefontaine.

This center for excellence is arguably the finest football academy in the world, having produced such gifted players as Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry, Kylian Mbappé and Eugénie Le Sommer just to name a few.

Starting in 2012, FFF has begun exporting its model here to New York City, creating our club: the French Football Academy. 

The Academy’s technical program is headed by Jean-Claude Lafargue, former director of France’s Institut National de Football (National Football Institute) at Clairefontaine, who will visit the site regularly to oversee global strategy and development. Operations will be handled by BEPF holder and former FC Lorient manager Zohair Ghenania. The FFF’s Direction Technique Nationale will be responsible for overseeing training to ensure coaches reach the required standard of excellence.

Able to welcome several hundred students regardless of nationality, the Academy seeks to recruit motivated young players based in New York who are looking to go further in their footballing careers. The Academy offers its full-time students a complete educational pathway focusing on athletic development, academic study and training underpinned by world-class technical excellence, making the FFF the first football federation in the world to open this kind of innovative structure.

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Part of the FFF’s commitment to international development, the French Football Academy is inspired by the FFF’s ‘Label Jeunes’ network, which rewards clubs that dedicate resources to youth development. The FFF recently opened a joint office in Beijing with the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel), as well as renewing its partnership with Major League Soccer for 2019-2020, where the FFF oversees training and development for US youth club coaches.

SOCCER PHILOSOPHY & AMBITION

We expect every player to commit to the best behavior on and off the field by providing the best example of the game. For the children who want to take their game to the next level, we also prepare players for their future in university by creating universal work methods, ethic and ambition. We encourage every player to train and develop their skills for competition by playing in the best leagues and tournaments in and out of New York State.

Players will receive the same exact professional soccer training as in Paris, supervised by the Director of INF Clairefontaine, Jean-Calude Lafargue. Our talented players will be exposed to French youth scouts and coaches during our annual tournaments and camps in France.

Whether for a clinic, a camp or a travel season, our academy is aiming at developing players from recreational level to professional level.

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WHY CHOOSE FRENCH FOOTBALL ACADEMY?

  1. We are the official academy of the World Champions Federation
  2. Many of the greatest football nations have adopted systems inspired by the French model, which still represents the benchmark in international training. Indeed, the greatest European clubs recruit the best French players at an increasingly early age (Pogba, Varane, Mbappe, Dembele…).
  3. We are proud to be part of the great FFF Academy family and to be directly linked to a high-standard World class model, committed to sharing sporting and educational values: PLEASURE, RESPECT, TOLERANCE, COMMITMENT, SOLIDARITY. 
  4. We are not only aiming at teaching our children all the fundamentals of soccer but also focus on the growth of each individual’s ability and social well-being.
  5. Our soccer programs are supervised by Jean-Claude Lafargue, director of INF Clairefonatine in Paris, one the best academies in the World that produced talents such as Henry, Matuidi, Mbappe etc. 
  6. We carefully select our coaches for their international experience, understanding of our methodology and patience and care for our young players.
  7. We provide the most comprehensive Competitive & Recreational soccer programs in NYC available for boys and girls from U6 to U13.
  8. We are proud of our diverse community and we are committed to youth development rewarding excellence but also respect, discipline, and ambition.
  1. We strongly believe that the US/NYC/NJ children are talented and they need the French methodology to become world-class players. The MLS itself signed a training agreement with the FFF to train youth coaches: after researched the different training development programmes available across Europe, the MLS chose the FFF one because it has the unique ability to enable coaches to develop the very highest standards, both  on the pitch and also in the education and promotion of the values of sport.
  1. We strongly believe that we can take every player to the next level regardless his skills by implementing a unique methodology in a safe and fun environment.