Play pro in Portugal for your Gap Year!

“Play Pro Europe” Gap Year Program.

Develop your game in a full-time soccer environment playing with a Professional Portuguese Football Club for your Gap Year!


This program is designed for the serious athlete who wants to immerse themselves in European footballing culture. Running from July 29th, 2024, to May 31st, 2025, you will experience the highest level of individual development combined with Club training and League games.

This program is specifically designed to expose the athlete to European football where you will greatly improve in all areas. In addition to developing your all round technical and tactical abilities you will have the opportunity to be seen by European scouts whilst playing in the Portuguese Footballing Federation.

Key Reasons to take a Gap Year

Take a gap year to focus exclusively on yourself and your physical and mental development. Once you have graduated high-school you are physically primed and mentally prepared to make huge developmental leaps given the ideal environment. IFD covers all aspects of your development utilizing our Play, Live, Learn patented training philosophy that is proven to take players games to the next level!

With aspirations of playing at college you will need impressive prerequisites on your playing resume. Adding invaluable IFD Academy experience and Professional Portuguese Club immersion to your repertoire will help you stand out and secure you that college placement.

IFD coaches are not only world-renowned but ex-professional players themselves.

Experience the Portuguese culture and why Portugal academies are STILL the best talent factories in the world!

Football is part of our culture, our lives and our heritage. As a county of only 10 million, Portugal has developed more top professional players than any other nation per capita.

Experience our beautiful weather, people, food and culture in your gap year!

Portugal is Football and Football is Portugal!

While you take your game and development to the next level with IFD, you will also have the opportunity to showcase your talent and progression to European Scouts whilst playing in the Portuguese Footballing Federation.

This IFD “Play Pro Europe” Gap Year program is truly an opportunity of a lifetime and if you have what it takes, this program will get you seen by the right people.

Our IFD Coaches and Scouts are extremely well connected and have a proven track record of securing professional contracts for our academy athletes!

The dates set out above fall in line with the footballing season which is essential to your playing experience. In order to have you fully registered with the league you must have all the appropriate visas and FIFA registrations done in advance. This process takes 4 months to complete so for those who are serious we must commence the process in March. IFD will work with you and our Lawyers to make sure that this is a smooth process noting that we will require many forms of documentation that we will request during the registration period.

  • Accommodation

  • Meals

  • Local travel

  • Visa processing

  • League fees

  • IFT Individual training

  • Sports nutritionist

  • High-performance mental coach

  • Portuguese University Language course

  • Player’s sports kit

  • Club kit

  • Gym Sessions

  • One-on-one player reviews

  • Health insurance

  • Registered in Europe with FIFA

  • Playing for a professional club

  • A once in a lifetime opportunity!

The cost for the IFD “Play Pro Europe” Gap Year Program is $33,800 and is all-inclusive (excluding flights) for early registrations with deposits received between January 1st and March 31st, 2024.

Please note we are limited on available space so if you are committed it is best to get your application in early.
Deposit fee is $1000 USD nonrefundable. The balance of the payment is split into 2 being 50% prior to arrival and the balance split over each month thereafter.

Affiliate Clubs

  • Boavista F.C.

  • S.C. Salgueiros

  • F.C. Paços de Ferreira

  • Sporting Clube de Coimbrões

  • F.C. Tirsense

  • F.C. Pedras Rubras

  • U.D. Oliveirense

  • Leixões S.C.

  • Académico F.C.

  • F.C. Felgueiras

  • C.D. Aves

  • FC Porto B