During the first part of the meeting, a lecture was held on the School of Sports Championship – FASE, scouting and the players’ development plan, cooperation between Football Academy and Sporting Lisbon, and the operation of one of the world’s best academies from the capital of Portugal. A particular focus was the discussion of the “From scouting to Sporting” programme, which is carried out as part of the aforementioned cooperation. Guests attending the lecture could ask questions, and the speakers answered them comprehensively.
In the next part of the meeting, everyone moved to the pitch at Primary School No. 1 in Bolesławiec, where João Furtado (Sporting Lisbon coach), assisted by FA Bolesławiec coaches, conducted a training session with Football Academy Bolesławiec players born in 2012. The training session was very demanding, and the players’ fatigue was visible at first glance. Coach João focused on ball control, one-on-one play and the players’ concentration, while maintaining appropriate intensity.
At the end, the coaches presented a commemorative HOT PROSPECT statuette to one player who stood out significantly during the training session. That player—or rather, that female player—was Zuzanna Droszczak. In addition, Head of Scouting Przemysław Tomków officially invited two Football Academy Bolesławiec players, Igor Kotwica and Maciej Kaniuk, to trials at FASE Szczecin.
In connection with the guests’ visit to the City of Ceramics, they received commemorative ceramic mugs from Damian Sawczak, as well as tremendous applause from the Players, Parents and FA Coaching Staff.
It was an extraordinary event, especially because, for the first time in the history of the City of Bolesławiec, we were able to host the 19-time Portuguese champions. The club from the capital of the westernmost country in Europe is also a 22-time Portuguese runners-up, 21-time winners of the national cup, four-time winners of the League Cup and nine-time winners of the Portuguese Super Cup.
Sporting, which was also managed by the current coach of the Poland national team, Fernando Santos, has one of the best football academies in Europe. The Lisbon club’s academy graduates include Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, João Moutinho, João Mario, Rui Patrício, Nuno Mendes, Ricardo Pereira, William Carvalho and Rafael Leão. Thanks to the fruitful cooperation between Football Academy Bolesławiec, Sporting Lisbon and Football Academy School of Excellence, the club from the capital of Portugal can continuously monitor the progress of players from FA Bolesławiec. One example is the football tests conducted every six months, which are entered into a specially prepared database that can be used by coaches and scouts searching for football talent. Since the 2021/22 season, the coaching staff of the youth groups of the 19-time Portuguese champions, Sporting Clube de Portugal, has had access to the Football Academy testing database and actively observes the players with the greatest potential at FA centres.