From Lagos to the World: Hudl x Asisat Oshoala Academy
Nigerian girls dreaming of going pro finally have a platform that makes the world stop and watch. This is the story of Hudl & Asisat Oshaola Academy.
From Lagos to the World: How Technology Changed Everything
Before partnering with Hudl, Asisat Oshoala Academy faced two stubborn obstacles that will be familiar to any academy operating outside of football's traditional powerhouse regions. First, convincing a scout of a player's quality without visual evidence was nearly impossible. Second, flying scouts out to Lagos was prohibitively expensive — both for the clubs and for the academy.
"Trying to convince a scout about your player when you don't have a video is really difficult," said Academy Director Lanre Vigo. "And it costs a lot to fly down a scout to come to Nigeria. Those were the two main difficulties."
The combination of the Hudl Focus Flex camera for professional-quality capture, the Hudl platform for hosting and sharing footage, and Wyscout — the world's largest football video and data library — for giving that footage genuine global reach, dissolved both barriers simultaneously.
"With Hudl, scouts don't have to spend a lot of money coming down," Vigo explains. "They can just go on Hudl. We send them the videos and they can decide if they're interested." The result: a Nigerian academy with 30 players now routinely fields enquiries from clubs in the United States and Europe, streams live games to interested parties overseas, and has successfully placed players on full scholarships in New York.
"It shows our players what they can do. Technology makes it easier — it's more cost effective. Scouts don't have to spend a lot of money coming down. They can just go on Hudl."
The Wyscout Advantage: Global Reach, Two Ways
For Asisat Oshoala Academy, Wyscout serves a dual purpose that gets to the heart of what a modern football academy needs to do: it gets their players seen, and it helps those players see what they need to become.
On the outward-facing side, hosting footage on Wyscout means that any scout, club, or university in the world can access Asisat Oshoala Academy's players through the same platform they already use to find talent globally. This is not a small distinction. The breadth of Wyscout's network means a highlight clip of a Lagos left-back can sit in the same ecosystem as footage of players from Barcelona, Ajax, or Chelsea's academy.
"Because of the link we have over there and the kind of bond we're trying to build," says Head of Operations Yusuf Savage, "when we live stream games, we ask clubs and universities to watch. And with the right connections in the US, they follow up when they see something they like."
On the inward-facing side, Head Coach Alabi Kazeem uses Wyscout to bring the world's best players into the training environment. "We use world-class players to teach our players," Kazeem explains. "Now let's look at Vinicius — why is he so spectacular? What is he doing? So we do that analysis and it makes the player better." For girls who may never have had access to elite football coaching resources, this kind of exposure — to tactical ideas, movement patterns, and the mindset of elite players — is transformative.
"We use world-class players at times to teach our players. We look at what they're doing tactically, analyse it, and use it to make our players better."
What Overseas Clubs Are Actually Looking For
Understanding what scouts want to see is one of Asisat Oshoala Academy's competitive advantages — and it shapes how they construct their highlight packages and manage their players' development.
"They're usually looking for attackers, midfielders, and wingers," says Vigo. "But more specifically, they're looking to see how players understand the game — especially players from Africa. They want to know their tactical knowledge: do they know where to be on the pitch during different patterns of play?"
This is why video analysis is so central to the Asisat Oshoala Academy programme. After every match — win, lose, or draw — the team reviews the footage together. "We see our lapses and correct them in training," says Kazeem. "When we play another match, we see whether players got what they were lacking. I can see a lot of improvement through this video analysis."
The academy has also deliberately developed the physical and mental attributes that give African players their edge. "As Africans, what overseas clubs expect from us is our strength," Kazeem explains. "We work on them physically and mentally so that when they get there, they can accelerate to whatever position they're in." The technical side of the game is addressed too, but the physical and mental preparation is what Asisat Oshoala Academy believes differentiates their players in a global market.
When it comes to the specific content that has tipped the balance for transfers, Vigo is clear: "From what we've noticed, from the last girl who left — it was more like her composure on the ball and her technical ability. It was more what they saw in the video."
"You can go from not knowing where your next meal will come from to being able to provide for your family. It's honestly life-changing. That's why we push for it to happen."
The Player Perspective: "Knowing that People Are Watching Me"
For the players themselves, knowing that footage of their performances can be viewed by any scout, club, or coach in the world changes not just their opportunities — it changes their mindset.
Neme Okwuchukwu Victory is a left-back at Asisat Oshoala Academy who was scouted from her local area, where she trained with men's teams for lack of any other option. She is candid about what the technology has given her, both professionally and personally.
"Having our footage available to be shown to the world gives us motivation and courage to put out our best," she says. "Knowing that people are outside watching us and also want to get players from this place."
Video analysis has also made her a better player in a very concrete way. "From the recordings, I go back and recheck my mistakes and know where I need to work on. Most especially my right leg. But through that visual, it has already brought me to see where my mistake is and how I can correct it. I am becoming a two-footed player."
She is also clear-eyed about what Asisat Oshoala Academy represents for girls like her. "Other academies don't have the same platforms and tools as us. They don't have these facilities to put them to the public, to the world for others to see. We know we are a business market."
Her message to other girls in Nigeria who are working hard but going unseen? "Find this academy. This is because of the recordings of our games that are recorded and shared. This academy gives you an opportunity to be shown to the world and to showcase your talent."
"Other academies don't have the same platforms and tools as us. They don't have these facilities to put them to the public, to the world for others to see."
How It Works: The Operational Reality
The technology stack at Asisat Oshoala Academy is deliberately practical. The Hudl Flex camera provides the consistent, professional-quality footage that makes live streams and highlight packages credible to overseas clubs. The Hudl platform hosts, organises, and makes shareable everything the camera captures. Wyscout ensures that footage reaches the widest possible global audience through the platform scouts already use every day.
"We maintain consistency by making sure we have quality footage to evaluate before posting it online, so international and European clubs can look out for our talents," says Savage. "The Hudl Flex camera gives us this quality."
The staff training piece matters too. At Asisat Oshoala Academy, the media team, Savage, and Kazeem all work with the tools. "It's very, very important that everyone at the academy knows how to use it," says Savage, "so we can track and follow up on our programmes." The academy has projectors for classroom-based tactical sessions, video analysis software for post-match reviews, and a consistent live-streaming setup that means games are accessible to anyone, anywhere.
The academy is growing. Players arrive from secondary schools, from other clubs, drawn by the reputation of the Asisat Oshoala Academy brand. "We discover players from schools, from other clubs, who want to be part of the Asisat Oshoala Academy brand," says Savage. More branches are being discussed in other Nigerian cities.
"Teams abroad know that you're forward thinking. If your players come into their club and they're doing video analysis — which basically every club does — your player wouldn't be so out of touch."