De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) announced Wednesday its football team will travel to London in October for a game against the NFL Academy team, an elite program for high school students in England.
The game is slated for Oct. 8 — a Tuesday — at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"This is a really exciting opportunity for our players," De La Salle head coach Justin Alumbaugh said in a release. "Not only is this the first time that our team has traveled outside of the U.S. in the history of De La Salle's football program, but we will be playing athletes trained by world-class NFL coaching staff. It will be a great experience that will test our players and give them some unforgettable memories."
De La Salle, seen prior to last year's CIF Division 1-AA NorCal championship game, will play in London in October against the NFL Academy, an elite program for high school students in England. (Photo: Dennis Lee)
The Spartans are among high school football's legendary programs after winning 151 straight games between 1992 and 2004. A movie was even made about the De La Salle program and former coach Bob Ladouceur.
Alumbaugh told the
San Jose Mercury News the chance to play abroad came about last year at a Nike coaches summit when a former player mentioned a team was needed to play across the pond.
The NFL Academy has two campuses, one in England and the other in Australia. De La Salle isn't the first American team to face NFL Academy as
Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.) played last year along with
IMG Academy White (Bradenton, Fla.).
De La Salle said the trip is being funded by Nike. The Spartans' trip abroad is sandwiched between a Sept. 27 game against El Cerrito and an Oct. 18 contest against San Ramon Valley.
The Spartans went 11-3 in 2023, won their 31st consecutive North Coast Section title and a CIF Division 1-AA Northern California championship. They return senior quarterback
Toa Faavae after he combined for more than 1,600 total yards and 24 touchdowns.
