New York (AFP) – Reigning Olympic discus champion Roje Stona of Jamaica was among 14 international athletes named Monday to the NFL’s International Player Pathway’s 2025 class, all hopeful of an American football career. The 25-year-old Jamaican, who set a personal best and Olympic record of 70.0 meters to capture Paris gold, was invited to mini-camps last May by the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints after not playing American football in college.
The NFL global player program, which began in 2017, gives athletes from beyond US borders the opportunity to train at top levels in hopes of starting a gridiron career. Australian Jordan Petaia, a 24-year-old rugby union star, was announced earlier this month as being among the group hoping to make the jump to the NFL. Also coming from rugby union is Ireland’s Aaron Sexton, a wing for Ulster, and Zimbabwe’s T.J. Maguranyanga of French side ASM Clermont Auvergne.
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The selected athletes will begin a 10-week training program on and off the field at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, then display their skills in March before NFL team scouts. Players can be signed as free agents or taken in the 2025 NFL Draft if eligible, with each NFL team allowed one roster exemption for an international player during pre-season training, and players then can be signed to a practice squad roster spot.
Past players have come from such sports as rugby, athletics, basketball, and Gaelic football. Others chosen for the program include Australian rugby league player Laitia Moceidreke and rugby union player Laki Tasi, Fijian rugby union player Jeneiro Wakeham, German offensive tackle Leander Wiegand, French cornerback Maceo Beard, French rugby union player Joachim Trouabal, New Zealand basketball player Nathaniel Salmon, British US college football safety Dante Barnett, British-Zambian defensive end Mapalo Mwansa, and rugby union player Paschal Ekeji Jr., with a background from Lesotho, Nigeria, and South Africa.
“The Class of 2025 is an exciting one and we are delighted to welcome these talented athletes from around the world,” NFL executive vice president international Peter O’Reilly said. “Focusing on our global football development efforts and fostering international talent is crucial to growing our game globally.” Kickers and punters from other nations will join the group in the coming weeks.
Since the program began, 41 international athletes have signed with NFL clubs and 23 are currently on NFL rosters, including Britain’s Efe Obada, a defensive end for the Washington Commanders, and Australian Jordan Mailata, an offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles who came from rugby league.
© 2024 AFP
