This project received the award for the best academy in the world for the year 2025 at the prestigious Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai in December. “It’s deserved, we are unique in some ways,” points out the Czech coach and manager.
When you think of football in Egypt, Mohamed Salah is the first name that automatically springs to mind for Europeans. The Liverpool superstar is probably a motivation for the kids at the Right to Dream Academy too, isn’t he?
Salah is almost a god for the Egyptians and a huge role model for the youngsters. In Egypt, football has always had a good history and was very popular, but after what Salah has done in Liverpool, the interest in football is many times higher.
What are his potential successors?
In terms of character, boys and girls here are generally similar to those in the Czech Republic. However, they all have a great desire to get to Europe and play in the best competitions. In this, Mohamed Salah’s journey is a model for them.
Who can reach you?
Male and female players with great soccer and academic potential aged 10 to 16. While many academies in Egypt charge fees, ours is fully paid, opening the door to talented children from all walks of life. The academy provides residential facilities for children, where they combine school studies with intensive football training.
That sounds like a fairy tale.
This makes the Right to Dream project unique. It was established in 1999 in Ghana, when former Manchester United scout Tom Vernon founded the first academy. From the beginning, it was not only built on sports skills, but also on studies, character and personality development. Another uniqueness is the commitment that we will find a job for every player either in professional football or at one of our partner schools in Great Britain or the USA.
Which is no fun.
It certainly isn’t when you consider that we have 70 to 90 students in each academy. We are also constantly working on improving the system and the connection between our academies and the first teams, or expanding our network of partner schools in the USA. From a historical point of view, 2016 was an important year for Right to Dream. That was when the Danish first league club FC Nordsjaelland was purchased. It paved the way for players like Sulemana Kamaldeen (current wing of Atalanta Bergamo)Simon Adingra (Sunderland striker) or Mohamed Kudus (Tottenham striker). Another milestone was the year 2021, when our current owner, Sir Mohamed Mansour, joined the project, who contributed to further development.
He’s probably very wealthy.
Sir Mansour is a prominent Egyptian businessman and former politician who is a huge football fan. He first considered buying England’s Newcastle United when it was for sale a few years ago. But in the end, he decided to invest in the Right to Dream project, which seemed more meaningful to him.
And moved it higher.
The first step was to build an academy in Egypt, where he sees huge football potential. As he was aware of the fact that in the future the academies will produce a larger and larger number of players, he decided to also build a team in the American MLS, namely San Diego. In his first season as a league rookie last year, he won the Western Conference with a record number of points, falling just short of the Vancouver Whitecaps in the playoff finals. The team narrowly missed the final against the Miami team led by Lionel Messi. Sir Mansour had a modern academy built on the outskirts of San Diego similar to the one we have in Egypt – for about 80 players. So at the moment we have four academies – in Egypt, Ghana, Denmark, USA and three professional teams of FC Masar (2nd Egyptian League)FC Nordsjaelland, San Diego FC.
Could you elaborate more on the selection of players?
I will only describe to you how the selection takes place here in Egypt, as it may differ from other countries. Our academy has seven scouts and 27 regional organizers who help us follow children all over the country. During each year, they are able to scout and test approximately 30,000 children. We are currently developing a project of so-called training centers for children from six to 10 years old. Within three years, we will have 10 centers, each for approximately 60 children. This means 600 children who will already develop on the same principles as the players in our academy. Players with the greatest potential are then selected for our academy every year at the final scouting event. In the end, seven to 10 chosen ones will emerge from it.
How do you estimate their potential at such a young age?
We have great confidence in our scouting department, which has a great reputation. Once players get to the final scouting event, we try to make our approach as comprehensive as possible. Four departments participate in the selection – football, scouting, school and character. Each of them has one vote. If there is no consensus of the majority, the executive director of the academy has the fifth, decisive vote. All four departments test the player in detail. We have special tests on the behavior of players in the team. We do IQ tests or cognitive tests with them and also examine what their prerequisites are for character development. At school, we test knowledge in all subjects, including English, which is a matter of course from the point of view of their future path. From a football point of view, we simply want the best players. We monitor how the players perceive space and time, how they are doing from the technical side, what are the prerequisites for physical development. This process takes place over three to five weeks, usually in June of each year. We have a meeting twice a week where we evaluate and discuss our findings. Some discussions are very interesting. I would like to mention one incident that happened two years ago, if I may.
Of course.
Back then, we had two very similar players on the shortlist. Both were the leading types in the collective. Both were very good footballers and students. Basically, you wouldn’t find a single difference between them. However, we only had room for one. In the end, it was the background they came from that was decisive. We chose the one who grew up in poorer circumstances. This is also what Right to Dream is about. The fact that these children have an open path to professional football or to a university in the USA gives them the opportunity to reshape the environment in which they grew up. To date, we have more than 200 players in professional football around the world, 40 of whom have represented their country. In addition, we have more than 100 graduates of universities for which tuition fees of over 30 million US dollars have been paid. Some of them graduated from prestigious schools like Harvard or Stanford.
How did you get into this company?
Since 2015, I have been friends with Flemming Pedersen, the current head of the football department at Right to Dream. We have talked several times in the past about how it would be good if our paths crossed sometime. In 2018, I had an offer to go to FC Nordsjaelland to train at the same time when I started in the second league Vlašimi as the head coach. I still refused then. What was decisive for me was the internship in Nordsjaelland, which we went on together with the coaches of the Czech national teams in 2022. We were completely blown away by the environment and atmosphere that prevailed in the club. The quality and system of player development was also at a very high level. When the opportunity to participate in the selection process for the position of head coach for a newly established academy in Egypt appeared, I did not hesitate and applied.
And soon you found yourself in Egypt with your family. Are you already used to a different lifestyle?
I won’t lie, it took us a bit at the beginning, but gradually we got used to it. It was important for me that the family felt good here, and now I can say that we even fell in love here. But there are things that are very difficult to get used to. (laughs) The Arab mentality is simply different.
What can’t you get used to?
Overall, it’s a different lifestyle and a different pace. Staying in Egypt teaches one patience and tolerance. A typical example is the often used word inshallah, which translates as “God willing”. It expresses that every future event is not in the hands of man, but in the hands of God. As a result, any plans are taken with a greater perspective. And when someone is late, for example for a meeting, it is often explained with the word inshallah – God wanted it that way.
What else is difficult to understand from a European point of view?
Transport. Obtaining a driver’s license here works according to different rules than in Europe. There are no formal regulations and traffic is very spontaneous, controlled primarily by intuition. But while this style may seem chaotic, it surprisingly works in practice. Staying in Egypt also has its comfortable and pleasant aspects. My family and I have found a rhythm here and we try to use all the positive possibilities that Egypt has to offer. The sun and the weather tempt us more to spend time outside. The local people are helpful and nice. There is an amazing culture and the food is worth tasting. And on top of that, there is the sea – the Red and the Mediterranean – which is practically around the corner with amazing beaches.
So you are satisfied.
Very. The role of head coach was a new experience for me, as was the later role of technical director. It has significantly advanced me professionally, both from a human and managerial perspective. That is also why I decided to extend the contract for another three years. I originally expected a three-year tenure, however, the club’s management would welcome longer-term cooperation, possibly in another role, for example a coaching role within the organization, which I perceive as an appreciation of my work. I miss the day-to-day work on the field and the development of the players and the team, which is why I would like to return to it in the future.
