Why the NFL is Bringing American Football to Africa

Justin Norman: Here in Lagos, Nigeria, these athletes are vying for a shot at the NFL to become the next Patrick Mahomes or David Njoku.But for many of them, it's their first time playing American football.

There are 1,696 players in the NFL. 138 are of African descent. If we're up to this guy, there would be many more. 

That's Osi Umeniora, 11-year NFL veteran, 2-time Super Bowl champion, and the pioneer bringing American football to the African continent. He's the founder of The Uprise and the NFL's lead in Africa. 

Osi Umenyiora: Doing a lot, man.

Justin Norman: You may be wondering why the NFL is in Africa. The other football, or soccer, is the most popular sport on the continent. And if most of the players in this camp have never even played football before 

**Daniel Owusu Bermiah: **First time playing football. 

Justin Norman: Is there really any shot of them making it to the League? 

Osi Umenyiora: Well, we believe there's talent all over the world, but opportunity isn't. So all you have to do is find this abundance of talent that we know Africa has and give them that opportunity. 

Justin Norman: This isn't philanthropy. The NFL is serious about its talent investment. They need to find more players like Osi.

Osi grew up in Nigeria before moving to the US when he was 14. It was here that he first learned about American football. After playing football for just two years in high school, he received one scholarship offer to play in college and was ultimately drafted by the New York Giants. 

His unbelievable path shows how important it is to create opportunities for young athletes across the continent.

So in 2020, he founded The Uprise, a talent scouting and training program, and partnered with the NFL to hold camps in Accra, Ghana, Nairobi, Kenya, and Lagos, Nigeria, to find the best global talent for the League. 

Osi Umenyiora: The NFL has stated we want to be a global sport. So if you want to be a global sport, you have to have people who are playing the game globally. If you really want the fan base to expand, you have to have people from those particular countries playing the game. 

Justin Norman: To be the best entertainment product, the NFL also needs the best athletes in the world playing in their league. And they're competing for that talent. 

Africa is becoming a hotbed for sports investment. The NFL is the biggest league in the world by revenue, but it's still new to the continent. Soccer, or football, Africa's most popular sport, has long tapped into the region's talent pipeline, supplying players to European leagues for decades. The NBA has also steadily built its presence through grassroots programs and the Basketball Africa League, now entering its fifth season.

The driving force behind this growing interest is Africa's demographic boom. The continent is home to 1.4 billion people, a number expected to double this century. And with a median age of just 19, it’s the youngest and fastest-growing region in the world. So the NFL camps are an opportunity to tap into this demographic destiny.

Osi Umenyiora: So we have players from DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, it's everywhere. So we bring them together, we hold a camp, you know, we try them out, test them out, see what their physical ability is. So we just have to find that talent, give them opportunities. Thankfully, I have relationships with the game of American football, whether that's the NFL Academy or the International Player Pathway Program.

Justin Norman: In 2017, the NFL established the International Player Pathway Program, an initiative to increase the number of international players in the league and to create an opportunity for them to earn a spot on an NFL team. Of the 50 players who signed with the team through the IPP, 8 are from Nigeria and at least 15 have African heritage.

After The Uprise’s first camp in Abuja in 2021, four players made it to the NFL Academy in London and two directly to the NFL through the IPP. None of them had ever played organized football before. 

The Uprise and NFL camps have barely scratched the surface in their search for and development of talent. With more time and investment in sports infrastructure, there will be more African players in the NFL. 

So these players of the camp in Lagos are showing up knowing they have a real shot. 

Desmond Osuji: My name is Desmond Osuji. I'm from Imo State, Nigeria. I want to become a professional football player. 

Joshua Garanga Athian: I've always wanted to be a professional athlete. I play basketball and I've always tried to reach the NBA. Regardless of the sport, if I can reach to a professional level, it's just my dream. 

Osi Umenyiora: A lot of these guys have never left their towns, their villages or whatever. And so here they get the opportunity to rub shoulders and test their athleticism against other elite athletes. So it's a great opportunity for them, but almost as important as the guys who are bringing in all these NFL players who, some of them they have African descent, some of them don't, and they want to come back into the country and they want to give back to the people here. The emotion behind that, the time and the care and the passion that they have for the continent of Africa is something that needs to be shown.

And so we're really, really happy to bring them in and also give the people here the opportunity to go out and be exactly where those players are. 

Joshua Garanga Athian: The fact that I'm actually sitting here and watching legends like coaches do a bunch of stuff is, is really heartwarming and it's outstanding for real. The experience has been amazing to be honest. 

Desmond Osuji: It’s great. It's something that people don't come across in their lifetime. Like, you might live your whole life and you don't get to see that opportunity. I just want to appreciate them for bringing me to this stage, because I'm very sure that if it wasn't for this opportunity, I don't know where I'm going to be today.

Osi Umenyiora: We're going to keep on doing this. We're going to have more Uprise camps here in Nigeria. But we're going to take the NFL main camp to different places all across Africa, because everybody needs to see this. And players need to get a feel for other countries in Africa. So we're going to continue to do this for as long the NFL and Roger Goodell allows us to. 

We're trying to create opportunities, trying to create hope, trying to create dreams. Now with these pathways that we've created, we've seen people actually make that transition into the NFL.

Justin Norman: Thanks for watching this episode of The Flip. For more stories of progress in Africa, please hit that subscribe button.