FoSoX is your portal to the top Brazilian soccer schools that accept foreign students.

Brazil is the most successful football nation on earth.

Brazil is to play host to the next FIFA World Cup of 2014.

FoSoX encourages you to visit Brazil not only as a tourist but primarily as a soccer trainee.

To nobody’s surprise, there are zillions of futebol schools in Brazil. However, there are very few that accept foreign students. Among these few, there are even fewer with adequate facilities, experience, reputation, financial base and name recognition to attract quality English-speaking training staff. Football/Soccer X-change, Brazil (FoSoX) is your portal to the choice few Brazilian football schools that can provide you with all that you need.

Тhe information on this website is free. At the end of each dedicated school section, you will be provided with a way to contact the school directly.

Whether you are a preteen or already compete professionally, spending time in a Brazilian football school could prove useful to developing your soccer skills.

Brazil’s football schools are inexpensive and safe, and they provide the highest quality soccer training, in addition to serving a unique educational purpose by enabling international travel to take place in a friendly, safe and controlled environment. They are also world famous. Those who have gone to soccer “camps” in Brazil find that it is much easier afterwards to receive soccer scholarships from US colleges or even to sign contracts with professional soccer teams.

Technically, it is usually incorrect to call Brazilian futebol schools "soccer camps," because all but one listed here provide soccer training throughout the entire year. The one exception is the main training facility of Brazilian National football team, which offers two or three-week long camps but where you could also end up training next to Pato, Kaka, Ronaldinho, and the rest of the Team Brazil. Other Brazilian football schools listed on www.fosox.com one could attend all year around. They also all are boarding schools where one could go through regular training schedule or arrive for the group or even personalized soccer clinic. Many foreign students attend "Brazilian soccer camps" for many months, even years.

1. Why Brazil

In the world of football Brazil needs no introduction. The country won more FIFA World Cups then any other country on earth and is always closely competing for another. Soccer, which throughout the world is better known as football, futbol (Spanish) or futebol (Portuguese), is like a religion in Brazil.

Brazil also is the greatest supplier of football talent in the world. Brazilians players are everywhere: on the rosters of top European clubs and in the most obscure soccer leagues. Currently, there are over 400 Brazilians playing in top 15 European leagues, over 120 of which are in the top five: England’s, Spain’s, Italy’s, Germany’s and France’s. In 2011, the top 10 European teams combined had 27 Brazilians on their team rosters, more than two teams worth!

The high quality of Brazil’s soccer training is reflected not only in the country’s having won the highest number of Soccer World Championships in the world, but also in the number of the "former" Brazilians currently playing for other national teams.

"In Europe, there seems to be a trend now," a football announcer once observed. "Find a Brazilian that you can swiftly naturalize and put him onto your national team." Indeed, in Euro2008, 25% of all participating national teams, including the champion Spain, had naturalized Brazilians on their rosters, some apparently naturalized by a special presidential decree. Among all of them, perhaps only one had a chance of making the actual Team Brazil.

Brazil’s reputation in the world of football/soccer is second to none. If you want to be the best, not only should you learn from the best – you should learn with them! That is why you should take your soccer training in Brazil.

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2. Why train abroad? Why should you actually go to Brazil?

What’s the difference between going to Brazil and joining one of the numerous local soccer camps with native Brazilian coaches on staff? Mainly for the same reason that you would choose to go to Brazil in the first place: besides the educational and adventurous aspect of the trip, and the joy of experience one is sure to have there, the main reason to go to a soccer academy in Brazil is for the immersion. Chances are that Brazilian coaches who teach in foreign countries would be more likely to adapt to the local style of training than to teach Brazilian style to their foreign pupils. Important secrets behind Brazil’s success in soccer can hardly be taught outside of Brazil since they involve pre-game preparations, post-game experiences, and the actual attitude of your Brazilian teammates before, during and after the game; the way football coaches relate to their students, the way students take in their soccer training, the way your Brazilian teammates relate to each other, and the way they would relate to you. Not only will you learn from your coaches, you will also learn from your teammates. Not only will you learn how to play better in respect to your technical and tactical training, you will learn how to rest, how to think, how to mentally approach your training in order to play better as well. Immerse yourself in the right environment and you'll "get" the game!

Brazilian methods of soccer training are also unique. A student from one of the world's premier soccer nations once told FoSoX representative, "In three weeks of training here I progressed more than in a whole year back in the UK! The teaching here is so much different, so less complicated and easier to follow, and so much more fun than back home." She planned on staying an additional three months, but given how many foreigners stay in Brazilian soccer schools for years on end, or keep coming back over and over again, I would not be surprised if those three months did not satisfy her desire.

There is a soccer school on almost every corner of every Brazilian village. FoSoX has sifted through all of these schools and camps for you, leaving you with only the few that have the facilities and commitment to serve both Brazilian and foreign students.

While the best place to learn baseball is probably in the United States, the best place to study ballet is most likely in Russia, and the best place to absorb Yoga is undeniably in India, the best place to greatly improve on your football/soccer skills is definitely in Brazil. Go to the country of joy, boundless optimism and Carnival to learn the world's most beautiful game and you're guaranteed an experience of a lifetime!

Click here for more on why to train in Brazil.

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3. General expectations when attending a Brazilian football school

While it is not possible to get into great specifics here since all football training facilities in Brazil are quite distinct, some general traits can be observed.

First and foremost all schools employ at least some English-speaking staff. More detailed discussion of the language barrier is in the next section.

Second, the visitors’ training schedule usually includes 5 days a week of training (unless one of the weekdays is a holiday), in which each day of training is broken up into technical & tactical sessions, friendlies and pre/post-training and analysis. Groups can also arrange for soccer clinics or students could request personal training. Inquire directly.

Each school has a well-stocked gym, as well as its own small medical staff focused particularly on treating soccer related traumas, as well as its own psychiatrist whose prime specialty is in working with children who are far away from home.

Around each school, there are ample opportunities for extra-curricular activities. For additional cost, all Brazilian soccer schools could organize tours to various tourist destinations in the vicinity, or organize other activities. Besides that, however, three football academies are located within striking distance from Rio de Janeiro, one of which is also within 10 minute drive to a beautiful beach. Two soccer schools are located on the outskirts of huge urban areas saturated with unique architecture, parks, museums, clubs, and restaurants - everything onе would expect to find in the big city and more! Then there is another soccer academy which is located between a mountain-resort paradise and а typical sleepy Brazilian village, in pristine hilly countryside full of trails, horses, white-water rafting, etc. Take your pick!

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4. Quality of training

Do we even have to discuss this? The photos on this screen should by themselves be able provide enough of the description! Do the names of Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, and the great Pele – in every corner of the globe a.k.a The King of Soccer – speak for themselves? The quality of training in the Brazilian football schools that are listed on this website is very high. Besides having all possible training equipment, and numerous football fields covered by the top quality grass that is used exclusively for soccer, there is the issue of Brazilian coaches.

As one can imagine, Brazil is saturated with soccer coaches. Thus the competition is fierce. On this website, FoSoX lists only top Brazilian football schools, the so called ‘cream of the crop’, so the coaching staff reflects that as well. The standard coaching team in a Brazilian football school gets attached to a team or a group of about 15 students. The breakdown of such a team is as follows: the coach himself, with at least 15 years experience of coaching students of the target age, one or two assistant coaches, a physical therapist and a massage therapist. In the past, many coaches in Brazilian soccer schools coached professional teams; many have experience of being on the staff of the Brazilian National Team as well. If your soccer club is in a search of where to conduct its pre-season or pre-tournament training, it may wish to consider some of the training facilities listed here. If you wish to familiarize yourself with Brazilian coaching methodology, some soccer schools offer soccer coaching clinics and seminars too.

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5. Language-barrier

Language-barrier in Brazilian soccer schools is not much of an issue. While Brazil’s language is Portuguese, it can be taken for granted that much of the staff in all the Brazilian soccer camps listed here is to a varied degree English & Spanish-speaking. Some speak better than others but most possess command of at least basic English/Spanish. Practically all coaching staff members are well versed in professional sport-related English/Spanish as well. Many Brazilian football schools also have French speaking staff, while some even have Japanese speakers & Russian-speakers. If, for whatever reason, visitors still feel that they would like to hire their own Portuguese interpreter, all schools have access to the vast list of foreign language interpreters or translators that visitors could then hire on their own.

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6. Prices

Brazilian soccer schools that are listed here could cost as little as $30US/24€/2,700¥ per day and as much as $220US/172€/19,800¥ per day. All depends on the school, time spent and the facilities chosen. Price should cover your basic room & board and soccer training. In some schools it would also cover tickets to the Brazilian Football League futebol games, city tours, etc. That, of course, does not always include your "in-country" transportation to and from the school itself. While some schools do pick-up from local airports, with others you would either have to get to school by yourself or arrange pick-up through the school for additional cost. Each school of course would gladly help you with directions or arrangements.

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7. Travel Insurance

FoSoX insistently suggests that all foreigners have travel insurance and travel health insurance in their home countries before setting out for a stint at a Brazilian football school.

First, check with your credit card company. Many credit card companies offer travel insurance and travel health insurance as part of you having their credit card.

If your credit card company is not one of them, check if your domestic health insurance policy would extend to your trip and, if yes, to which extent.

If it wouldn’t, FoSoX adamantly recommends that you purchase travel insurance and travel health insurance on your own and in your home country before departure. Moreover even if your domestic health insurance policy would cover your trip and training in Brazil, you should still purchase travel insurance, which would extent that coverage to trip cancellations, missed flight connections, evacuations, lost/stolen luggage and so on. God forbid, you’d ever have to pay for any of it out of pocket. 

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8. Safety

Brazilian football schools listed here are located in the areas that are considered safe.

First of all, all schools have their own ground security. Secondly, they are all situated in safe areas. While there is always a chance of something bad happening, this chance is probably not much higher than it would be in your own neighborhood.

Most training centers are located in quiet suburban neighborhoods where nothing usually happens. There is even one that is located on the outskirts of a calm midsize city but behind three layers of air-tight security, since its facilities are often occupied by the scores of major world’s football stars.

One school is located in the rural area far away from city trouble and city noise. Chances of something bad happening here are probably significantly less than in your own neighborhood.

Still, general common sense security precautions should be subscribed to, but those precautions shouldn’t be much different from the ones one would take on the streets of New York, Paris or Tokyo.

Now off to Rio de Janeiro. Three Brazilian football schools are located in the close proximity to Rio, and most of the foreigners who go to those soccer schools at some point end up visiting Rio de Janeiro as well.

Furthermore, whatever applies to Rio de Janeiro would also apply to Sao Paulo.

When in Rio, it’s advisable to be in a group. It would make things even easier if the group included at least one Brazilian. FoSoX doesn’t want to create a sense of danger about Rio, since there isn’t all that much of it. There are plenty of foreigners, who live in the city and move about freely without incident, but Rio still is a big city with a crime rate which is considered high, and theft is not uncommon. Therefore, some extra precautions should be taken when visiting. And yet… also be aware that out of 23 cities around the globe, Rio de Janeiro ranked as the world’s friendliest city in a study by a group of social psychologists led by Robert Levine of California State University at Fresno.

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9. Medical care

Every Brazilian football school keeps medical professionals on staff. Moreover, due to the fact that many students in Brazilian football schools come from distant regions and foreign countries, each school has close relationship with a psychologist who specializes in working with adolescences who are far from their homes. In case of emergencies there are full-fledged hospitals in close proximity to each school listed on FoSoX website.

 

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10. The educational aspect of the experience

The educational experience of your stint in a Brazilian futbol school is not to be underestimated. There are hardly better places to get exposure to life in international settings than taking a week or two in a soccer school in Brazil. You are in a foreign country. You live with your foreign peers of more or less the same age. Some of your co-students and roommates will probably speak your language, some won’t. You live with them, train with them, play with them, and party with them. You adjust to them, they adjust to you. You learn from them, they learn from you. Chances are you will make friends for life.

Brazilians are probably the friendliest people on earth. There is even a study to at least somewhat validate this. Moreover, at times Brazilians can be almost obsessively polite. Many foreigners say that the difference with many other cultures here is that Brazilians actually mean it when trying to make those around them feel good. Brazilian kids are usually kind, rambunctious, fun-loving and very much into sharing things. Also, there is probably no place on earth where people posses such a superior ability to handle stress. All this inevitably and very quickly rubs off on visitors, especially on those who have a chance to live with Brazilians in close quarters. Even a short stay in Brazil is likely to change one’s outlook on life. People usually don’t come back from Brazil the same as they as they were when they just arrived. They come back better.

A tourist from North-East of the United States once noted at the end of her one-week visit to Brazil: "No, I wouldn’t live here. It’s too hot, and there is way too much poverty. But people here are just unnaturally kind." Unnaturally kind… there are worse things to learn from, aren’t there?

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11. Future rewards

Besides educational rewards from spending time in a Brazilian football school, and consequently learning how to better appreciate yourself and the world around you, there are other more tangible rewards.

Your chances of acquiring soccer or general sports scholarships in a US college would increase dramatically. Obviously the chances would go even higher if you pick a Brazilian soccer school with great reputation and high name recognition.

Your chances for a professional career in soccer would also increase dramatically. Additionally, your confidence and your skill level in soccer would inevitably better itself, and that too would increase your chances for a professional career.

Even if your soccer/football career does not develop, the unforgettable experience of going to Brazilian soccer school, the memories, the friends and the ‘bragging rights’ will stay with you for life and will surely help you somewhere along the way. And, last but not least, that diploma certifying that you spent a week or two learning futebol in Brazil, the one that would one day hang in your or your child’s office, would inevitably attract positive attention and would surely help in your or your child’s chosen career.

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12. Female students

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13. Coaching clinic

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14. Students over 30

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15. Pre-season training

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16. Family vacation

All of the schools listed on www.fosox.com are used to having families use their son’s or daughter’s football/soccer training in Brazil as an excuse for taking a family vacation.

There are so many things you can do while your children train and play friendlies with their peers! Depending on the school you chose, you can spend time on а beautiful beach, go hiking, horseback riding or rafting in a magnificent national park, go sightseeing and do “the tourist thing” in an amazing looking city, or, if you time your trip correctly, attend and/or take part in one of “the big three” carnivals in Brazil:

Rio de Janeiro (should we say more?)	Salvador de Bahia (No lie – it’s the largest annual party on earth!)	Olinda/Recife (the most authentic, diverse and cheapest to navigate carnival of them all)

Areas around each school listed with FoSoX are inundated with things to see, things to do and restaurants full of great foods for all tastes and wallets. It is important to remember that you will always have access to friendly locals who will not only train and keep an eye on your children as you vacation, but will also know their way around and will happily provide you with insider suggestions.

All schools listed on FoSoX have arrangements with nearby hotels for these particular purposes while Oscar’s Training Center has a 5-star hotel right on the premises.

 

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Well, you read that far. That means that chances are you’re at least considering it. Come on, now is the time! Go ahead, take a chance and push that red button!