The Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy (RIASA) is an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

academy based in

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

, England which was founded in 2010.

History

RIASA was founded in 2010 and is based at

Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the Leeds city centre, city centre and He ...

's Headingley campus. It "offers international students aged between 18 and 22 the chance to combine studies with playing football across an intense, four-year course". The degree offered is a four-year Bachelor's degree in International Sports Business Management. Players study and train on campus. It was founded by former professional footballer Mark Ellis, and part-owned by David Baldwin. It is linked to

Richmond University Richmond American University London is a private university in London, United Kingdom. Richmond was founded in 1972,by British educator Cyril Taylor. The university awards US degrees from the American state of Delaware, where Richmond is accr ...

, an American University in London, who offer the players their degree when they graduate. The club had a link with English non-league club

Eccleshill United Eccleshill United Football Club is a football club based in Wrose, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Plumpton Park. History The club was established before World War II but was disbanded due to t ...

, based in Bradford, but that ended in 2015. In 2018 they began a women's team. In November 2021 it was announced that a new female football programme would be launched in 2022.

Coaches

Gerard Jones Gerard Jones (born July 10, 1957) is an American writer, known primarily for his non-fiction work about American entertainment media, and his comic book scripting, which includes co-creating the superhero Prime for Malibu Comics, and writing for ...

was head coach until May 2015. As of December 2018, ex-player Rob Jones was RIASA's head coach. In October 2018 they also had "fitness coaches, nutritional advisers and a strength and conditioning coach". James Hanson joined as a coach in September 2021.

Players

RIASA began with 23 students, including

Nahki Wells Nahki Michael Wells (born 1 June 1990) is a Bermudian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Bristol City and the Bermuda national team. Wells began his career in his native Bermuda, playing for Dandy Town Hornets and Berm ...

. By October 2018 they had 97 students, primarily American, but from 20 different countries. By February 2019 they had 94 students from 21 countries. Joseph DeMartino graduated in May 2018, and later became a goalkeeping director for American club

Fredericksburg FC Fredericksburg FC is an American soccer team based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1986, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the United States soccer ...

. In January 2019 RIASA graduate Omar Damba turned professional with English club

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

. Other future professionals who spent time with RIASA include Adam McCabe, Jonathan Lewis, and Christian Eissele.

References

{{reflist Football academies in England 2010 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 2010