A Journalist's Report On The Nike Academy, Tom Rogic and "The Chance"!

This is a fascinating interview. We speak to the journalist, Aidan Ormond, who works as a freelance for the excellent Football magazine, FourFourTwo (http://au.fourfourtwo.com/). Aidan was invited by Nike to become "embedded" with the "The Chance" and cover the progress of the Australian players. Aidan had a lot of time to observe the entire process at close range and he shares his observations with the NPL. There just has to be a good movie or min-series script in this story!

 The four young players from the Pacific region - Rogic is second from the left

 Tom Rogic in action in the final game - make or brake time!

And this is where they layed the final game of the "The Chance". Wow!!


As you are aware, ACT Premier League (ANU) player and Futsalroo, Tom Rogic, was awarded a scholarship to the very prestigious Nike Academy.

By any measure in Football this was a remarkable achievement.

There is a lot to this story. Rogic was one of four players from the Pacific region (3 x Australian, 1 x NZ) to make it through to the final 100 players who sort to claim one of those final eight scholarships. From a baseline of 75,00 young talented players from all around the world. It was a stern test of a young man's resolve among so many other richly talented young players.

Just how much talent is out there? And how many young talented Australian Football players go unnoticed? Too many I reckon. And if it wasn't for the Nike Challenge, would young Rogic get a real chance at being as good as he wants to be? I'd like to think so, but I doubt we do anywhere near enough for the best of our young talented players between 17 - 20 years of age. It reamins "a tragic vacant space"!

Well done Nike! This program was very correctly titled "The Chance" and it is a programs that does something psotive in Football all around the globe and for us in the ACT, a local result!

Don't miss this interview.

The pictures are sourced from Aidan Ormond and the gallery for the "The Chance" final game can be found at http://au.fourfourtwo.com/Gallery/245785,nike-chance-final-at-mk-dons-stadium-pic-special.aspx

Download Podcast here: