.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
When you think of Inter Miami, the first thing that comes to most people's minds is Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Tata Martino, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and the whole saga around that has made Miami the club to watch in MLS.
However, what has frequently gone unnoticed is the club's focus on recruiting and developing the best talent in South Florida, providing a clear pathway to the senior team.
So far, more than eight Academy players have made the step up to the first team and signed professional contracts in its young history after impressing with the reserve side, Inter Miami II.
It’s probably just about every young or amateur footballer's dream to get scouted by a professional club like Inter Miami.
Just about any footballer will have dreamed about being watched or scouted by a professional scout at some time or another. So, in this article, GOAL gives you all the information you need to know about how to get scouted by Inter Miami.
How can you get scouted by Inter Miami?
Inter Miami's technical staff members are always scouting the local scene in hopes of finding quality young talent - ranging from the U-11 to the U-17 group - to invite to the Inter Miami CF Academy via the Discovery Program.
If you want to go down that route, you need to be playing somewhere first, so just find a local club, excel, and stand out to potentially catch the attention of the official scout on the sidelines.
David Beckham's co-owned club also organizes identification (ID) camps and combines to find deep-rooted gems and wonderkids. Research and register for these tryouts to showcase your skills directly in front of club coaches and scouts.
If you impress at the trials, you may be invited to apply to join the academy.
If you're over 17 or haven't had much luck in the tryouts, you should look at college soccer as the pathway to MLS or Inter Miami. The American sports system uses college as a road to the professional game.
Each year the best College/University Soccer players from the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA are signed by clubs for their reserve sides competing in MLS NEXT Pro via the MLS Draft / NWSL Draft.
When are the Inter Miami academy tryouts?
Inter Miami holds open tryouts to identify top youth talent for ages 12-19 in the region.
To know about the next tryouts for Inter Miami CF, head over to the club's official Tryouts page. Any upcoming tryout dates will be available on the page.
Where is the Inter Miami academy based?
The Academy, which funds seven youth teams across seven different age groups from U-12 through U-19, trains alongside the MLS and MLS NEXT Pro teams at the 50,000-square-foot Florida Blue Training Center that features well-maintained natural and artificial turfs for year-round training, and a state-of-the-art performance center for conditioning and sports science.
Notable Inter Miami academy graduates
Getty ImagesThe Fort Lauderdale-based team has a myriad of young players who have come up through the ranks and made an impact on the first team.
Benjamin Cremaschi, Santiago Morales, Edison Azcona, Felipe Valencia, David Ruiz, Noah Allen, Ian Fray, and Lawson Sunderland all contributed meaningful minutes during Inter Miami's 2023 Major League Soccer campaign, while also helping the first-team clinch its first official trophy by winning the 2023 Leagues Cup.
Notably, Ruiz became the first Academy product to score for the senior side when he netted in the 3-1 win over the New England Revolution at DRV PNK Stadium in May last year.
More recently, the Herons announced the signings of two Academy players, Tyler Hall and Israel Boatwright.
Hall and Boatwright were both standouts in Inter Miami's Academy before making the jump to the club’s reserve team, Inter Miami CF II, the club's MLS NEXT Pro affiliate.
Now, the duo will get the opportunity to get real first-team minutes in 2024.
How to go pro in soccer?
We won't sugar coat things for you: becoming a professional footballer (or soccer player, if you prefer!) is no easy task. There are hundreds of thousands of youngsters who attempt to crack it, but only a few make the cut.
You need to be an exceptional player and a hard worker. The level is very high and, in particular, it is fast and athletic.
Just wanting it isn’t enough; you have to actively hunt for ways to be seen, continually enhance your own skill set through regular practice and take steps to get yourself into the world of professional football at a relatively young age.
Increase your chances of achieving that dream by following a healthy lifestyle and diet, just like real-world footballers.