The Malian academy Africa Foot beat Nigeria’s Inspire Sports Academy 1-0 in the final of the NextGen Africa Cup on Friday in Abidjan. Ibrahim Diarra, a graduate of the academy who moved to FC Barcelona in December 2024, illustrates the showcase of the project.
The final of the NextGen Africa Cup went the way of Africa Foot. On Friday in Abidjan, the Malian academy beat Nigeria’s Inspire Sports Academy 1-0, according to All Football.
This success resonates particularly for a structure that is an official development partner of FC Barcelona. The name of Ibrahim Diarra, a graduate of the academy who joined the Catalan club in December 2024, naturally comes up in conversation. Without, however, turning the Abidjan victory into an automatic passport to Catalonia.
Inspire had swept all before them before the final
The numbers, however, spoke in favour of the Nigerians. Inspire Sports Academy had won their three previous matches, scoring six goals without conceding a single one: 2-0 against Rising Stars on 10 November, 2-0 against Wazy FC of Issia on 11 November, then 2-0 against Benfica Campus Côte d’Ivoire, an academy affiliated with SL Benfica, on 12 November.
The final therefore brought down a team that had been unbeaten and watertight until then. Enough to fuel disappointment in the Nigerian camp. “We came here to win the tournament, so naturally we are disappointed with the result,” James Woods, a director of Inspire Sports Academy, told All Football.
Francis Ogette, head of Inspire Sports Academy, echoed the same sentiment: “We wanted to bring the trophy home, and losing the final is disappointing.”
The Barcelona pathway, without shortcuts
The link between Africa Foot and FC Barcelona is real but framed. The Malian academy signed a five-year partnership with the Spanish club in October 2024, offering young African players a pathway to Barcelona’s training structures, All Football reports. Africa Foot remains a development partner: it is not part of FC Barcelona, and Friday’s title opens no automatic route to those structures.
The precedent of Ibrahim Diarra shows, however, that the system can produce concrete trajectories: a graduate of the academy, the player joined Barcelona in December 2024. Each case, though, follows its own path.
Inspire still on European radars
The defeat in the final should not overshadow the reputation of Inspire Sports Academy. According to All Football, clubs from France, Belgium, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Germany have shown interest in its players, information reported that does not specify formal offers.
The Nigerian academy has also already sent players on trial to Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, France, Israel, Serbia and the Czech Republic. As many doors ajar, which speak to the structure’s scouting activity, regardless of the result in Abidjan.
Inspire also won the Mobile Cup in Nigeria earlier in the year and took part in the Gothia Cup in Sweden.