Football Academy Brazil

Real Sport Experience’s International Football Academy in Brazil gives you the chance to take your football skills to the next level or beyond. Training alongside former Brazilian Internationals with other hopefuls from all over the world, you can learn all about “the beautiful game” in a country where football is more than a sport, but a way of life.

Learning to play football in Brazil is a truly unique experience. At the full-time training academy, near Sao Paulo, you will gain an insight to the Brazilian approach to football, with a combination of physical training and“tactica” (tactical) development.

The academy itself is considered to be one of the world’s leading football training camps. Many professional teams have used its facilities, with players like Javier Mascherano, Tevez and many more gracing its field in recent years while training there with Corinthians FC.

Participant Requirements
This programme requires all participants to be reasonably fit, so academy students need to ensure they feel fit and able to join a programme of this nature.

Programme Age Limit
Minimum age 18 (17 year olds are accepted with a letter of consent from a parent/guardian), maximum age decided upon potential participant’s health.

Football Training Programme
The football Academy offers state-of-the art training with the best and most modern facilities offered in Brazil. More than 1500 students attend the camp regularly from Brazil and the rest of the world, making it one of the most established football development programmes in the world.

At the start of your programme, you will have a practical skills test. This will allow the Academy Instructors to assign you to a group of players of relative skill and age.

Participants are encouraged to arrive with a decent level of fitness in order for them to be in the correct physical shape to get the most out of the programme. The skills test will be based upon:

Please Note: the group you train with could include older or younger players according to your ability. The idea is for you to train with players at a similar level, to give your training better continuity and to give you more chances to develop as an individual player. If you do not receive a skills review and you feel that the group you train with is not suitable to your level, you should request a skills review.

Football Training
After being assigned to a group, you will train Monday to Friday for an average of 4-5 hours a day. You will work mainly on the areas where you were assessed on i.e. passing, ball control, and shooting/finishing and individual skills. The overall aim is to improve your consistency in each area and be able to better identify situations where you can use a different approach. Each session has a tactical approach to it too, to reinforce where you can apply your new range of skills.

Your coaches will look to teach you special tricks too, so you can deceive and outwit your opponents! Most training sessions will have short games towards the end, with the purpose of you attempting to use the skills from the session in a game-like situation. However, training sessions do not always follow a rigid structure, as the daily needs of each group are always changing.

All coaching will be conducted in Portuguese, though some of the coaches do speak some English. It is advisable to learn some basic Portuguese phrases in advance, which you can practice during your stay.

Female Footballers
The Academy is also able to receive girls looking to advance their football skills too. The centre has received a number of female teams and has actually hosted the US Women’s Soccer Team on a number of occasions. Please note, however, that group sizes may be smaller and training schedules may differ to the male student’s daily routine. If the number of female students is limited to just a few, you will train alongside the male students.

Please Note: If you are a female footballer hoping to attend the academy, you should note that there is no separate accommodation for females, so you will stay with male students. Whilst the academy welcomes and encourages female students to join the programme, you may experience mixed attitudes from the younger male players.

The Academy takes a full approach to its programmes, with fitness training being an important part of the programme. The coaching staffs believe that a good level of fitness will allow each player to maintain a higher level of accuracy in their passing, concentration and tackling. It also allows you to train and play at a greater intensity.

Please Note: It is advisable for all students to arrive with a reasonable level of fitness. The better your level of fitness, the more you are able to achieve from the programme.

Academy Coaches
The academy was set up and is run by former Brazilian International Oscar. Oscar’s full name is Jose Oscar Bernardi and he played in defence during 3 World Cups with Brazil (in 1978, 1982 and 1986). His record as a player is very impressive, finishing a runner up in the 1982 World Cup. He was one of the earliest players to move to the Japanese league and he enjoyed early success in his career with Sao Paulo.

Academy Facilities
The Real Football Academy boasts a number of first class facilities to make sure that you have the best training available and plenty to do in your free time:

Football	Fitness Centre	Other
3 Grass Pitches	Modern Weights Room	Cafe and Restaurant
	2 Work Out Rooms	Jacuzzi
	Swimming Pool	Games Room
		Laundry

Accommodation and Meals
All academy players live in shared rooms, with communal facilities i.e. bathrooms, TV areas etc, in the Academy’s Cottages. Each player has their own locker to store personal items. The rooms are on-site and close to all of the Campus’s other facilities (see above for details).

Meals are taken at the Academy’s restaurant. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all included, with players able to purchase snacks and drinks at the Academy restaurant/shop.

Airport Transfers
On arrival into Sao Paulo, you will need to take a pre-paid bus transfer from the airport to the academy in Agua de Lindoia. The city is approximately 170km from Sao Paulo, with the journey taking roughly 2 hours. On arrival, you will be collected by an academy representative, who will take you to the centre.

Programme Support
Throughout your stay in Brazil you will have the support and guidance of the coaches and staff at the football academy. They will provide you with competent assistance and help you with any questions or advice you may need during your stay. We will also provide you with the contact numbers of our local representatives in Sao Paulo, who will be on hand to help you with any problems during your stay in Brazil.

In addition, we will provide you with a 24 hour emergency contact number before you depart, so that you can contact one of our UK staff at any time should you need to.

Orientation
At the start of your programme you will receive a basic orientation, to go alongside your pre-departure handbook. This orientation will be conducted by our local programme coordinator and will cover important information regarding your training, accommodation, academy facilities and more.

If you are interested in booking or require further information, contact a Real Sport Adviser at Matt.fenton@realgap.co.uk or call on 01892 516164.