Hopefuls from the
UK,
Germany,
Japan and across the world have a shot at glory via the International Player Pathway
![NFL ‘combine’ has become a key pillar in gridiron’s global marketing strategy | Paul MacInnes](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5a2a8291693d54c86180910a3bc117b33e640fca/0_187_3500_2101/master/3500.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=8305c8bca476086226b6c21e5ce32bff)
Doing shuttle sprints in the north
London drizzle might seem a long way from the razzamatazz of the NFL, but maybe that’s the point. For the 50 athletes competing at the
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the chance of a golden ticket to the world’s most lucrative sports league, this was just one more step on a long journey.
Adedayo Odeleye’s story is a case in point. One of the dozens of tall, variously muscular individuals who had flown in from all over the world to take part in the day-long trial known as the “NFL combine”, the 23-year-old has a clear-eyed sense of the
Job in hand. Born in Nigeria and raised in the UK, he was spotted by NFL scouts as a student player at Loughborough University. He did his first combine last year, a pandemic-disrupted affair that took him to a training camp in
Florida and ended with him signing for the European League of
Football side,
Berlin Thunder. One year and one place on the European all-star team later, he’s back and ready to prove he’s completed his education.