NFL: Five Nigerian footballers make 13-man shortlist for National Football League 2026 programme
Nigerian athletes selected for 2026 NFL IPP pathway
In a massive moment for Nigeria, five of the nation's athletes have been selected for the National Football League’s International Player Pathway (IPP) Program Class of 2026.
The NFL released the names for next year’s IPP class at the start of this week, which included Anjola Oketola, Uar Bernard, Michael Daramola, Chibuike Madu, Michael Daramola and Collins Arogunjo among the 13 athletes who will attend the class next year.
The selection saw Nigeria end as the country with the highest representation in the 2026 class, underlining their growing presence in global American football!
Since 2017, the IPP program has worked tirelessly to identify elite athletes from across the globe and provide them with a platform to receive professional training, education and exposure to the NFL, with the primary goal being to get them into the League.
In January 2026, the five selected Nigerians will head to Fort Myers in Florida, where they will receive a 10-week training program at the esteemed X3 Performance and Physical Therapy, as well as classroom learning, which they will use to try to impress NFL scouts.
The latest batch of athletes joins a long list of Nigerians who have benefitted from the program, including the likes of CJ Okoye and Haggai Ndusuisi, both of whom have gone on to secure professional NFL contracts and feature in the league.
Full list of International Player Pathway Class of 2026:
| Player | Country |
|---|---|
| Kaia Clarkin | Australia, New Zealand |
| Kaylan Faumui | Australia, Samoa |
| Jarrod Gray | Australia, New Zealand |
| Felix Lepper | Germany |
| Kansei Matsuzawa | Japan |
| Joshua Weru | Kenya |
| Laekin Vakalahi | Australia, New Zealand |
| Collins Arogunjo | Nigeria |
| Uar Bernard | Nigeria |
| Michael Daramola | Nigeria |
| Chibuike Madu | Nigeria |
| Anjola Oketola | Nigeria |
| Seydou Traore | Algeria, Ivory Coast, United Kingdom |
