NFL Academy spends 10 days in Canton, plays 2 Ohio teams
The Pro Football Hall of Fame hosted the NFL Academy Europe-Africa, an England-based high school for student-athletes striving to play professional football, earlier this month.
From Aug. 27 through Sept. 5, the Academy visited Northeast Ohio and faced two local high school powerhouses. On Friday, Aug. 28, NFL Academy defeated five-time state champion Archbishop Hoban 28-14 at Hoban’s Dowed Field in Akron. The Academy then fell to Massillon 21-16 at Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on Friday, Sept. 5.
The roster, led by highly touted prospects including four-star recruit and University of Tennessee commit Niko Campas, spent their week between the games touring the region, including stops at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Kent State University, University of Akron and the Ohio State University. The team practiced daily at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium adjacent to the Hall of Fame.
On Monday, Aug. 31, the Academy roster and coaching staff visited the Canton Fire Department and were treated with homemade chili, KFC and local pizza.
“This evening is one of the highlights of my entire Academy experience,” said Campas, the team’s stellar 6-foot-7, 294-pound offensive lineman. “Not just here in the United States, but since I joined the Academy.”
In honor of the Canton Fire Department, Academy head coach Steve Hagen wore a CFD hat on the sideline of the team’s game at Massillon.
Hagen previously served as an assistant coach for the New York Jets (2013-15) and Cleveland Browns (2001-04, 2009-2012). He also gained collegiate coaching experience at Wartburg College and Illinois, Kansas, Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, Kent State, Nevada, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Jose State and Cal-Berkeley universities.
In 2022, Kris Durham, the head of NFL Academy, hired Hagen. Durham, a former NFL wide receiver, played with the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans and Oakland Raiders.
Durham and Hagen lead a roster that features players from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America and South America. The players are provided with a full-time high school education while training under former NFL coaches at the Academy. More than 50 alumni of the program are rostered with collegiate football programs.
In 2026, Seydou Traore became the first graduate of NFL Academy to be drafted into the NFL when the Miami Dolphins chose him in the fifth round, 180th overall. A native of London, Traore joined the NFL Academy in 2019 before playing college football at Arkansas State and Mississippi State universities. Following his first NFL training camp, he made the Dolphins’ initial 53-man roster to start the upcoming season.
The Academy, based just over two hours north of London in Loughborough, England, is one of many NFL initiatives to grow American football internationally. The league has also invested in international flag football, which has been granted a professional league and inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics, and an expanded international schedule.
As part of the league’s long-term commitment to global expansion, the 2026 schedule has a record-breaking nine games played across four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums. Melbourne (Australia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), London (U.K.), Paris (France), Madrid (Spain), Munich (Germany) and Mexico City (Mexico) will host international games in 2026.
Sixty-two regular-season NFL games have been played around the world with London, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dublin, São Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto hosting games to date.
The NFL Academy faces teams from Britain, Germany, Belgium and Mexico before returning to the United States in October to face IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Academy ends its regular season with games in Madrid and Innsbruck, Austria.
For more information, go to NFLacademy.com.
