Sports Editorial.- The Dominican Bayron Matos was announced this Thursday among the 16 talents from eight countries chosen by the ‘International Player Pathway’ to seek a place in one of the 32 NFL teams in 2024.
“We are delighted to welcome the Class of 2024 to the International Player Pathway program. Connecting our sport with fans around the world is our mission. “The participants in the 2024 program are a diverse and elite group of athletes and we look forward to following their journeys in the coming months,” said Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president of international.
Matos was born in Santo Domingo, after the age of 18 he came to the United States, where he attended high school and played basketball at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, the same sport in which he played at the University with South Florida, until he switched to American football.
The ‘International Player Pathway’ was created in 2017 with the aim of giving athletes from around the world the opportunity to improve their skills and work to earn a place on a team in the league.
Since the creation of this program, 37 players have signed with NFL teams, among which the Chilean Sammis Reyes stands out, the first in his country to play in this league and who played for the Washington Commanders in 2021.
These 16 chosen players will begin training in the United States in January at the IMG Academy, where they will have the opportunity to show their skills to the teams’ scouts.
At the conclusion of training camp, players will be eligible to seek a spot on the practice squad roster at any of the league’s 32 clubs.
The players who will participate in the program, in addition to Bayron Matos, are the Australians Jotham Russell and Patrick Murtagh, and the Irish Marck Jackson, Charlie Smyth, Darragh Leader and Rory Beggan.
The English George Smith, Travis Clayton and Harry Mallinder; Florian Bierbaumer, originally from Austria; Louis Rees-Zammit, from Wales, and Nigerians Sam Orji, Isaac Ajanah, Udo Uzuegbu and Praise Olatoke.
2024-01-19 00:38:48
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