From rugby and soccer to the NFL: How the league is finding talent in unexpected places

The NFL's search for elite talent has taken scouts far beyond the football fields of the United States and Canada.

Basketball courts and soccer, rugby and Gaelic football pitches in such places as Australia, Germany, Ireland, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe have become breeding grounds for potential running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, kickers, linebackers and offensive and defensive linemen.

The NFL started its International Player Pathway (IPP) program in 2017 to identify athletes who show promise as potential professional American football players, but otherwise wouldn't have an opportunity to enter the league.

“These are the athletes,” said Pat Long, the NFL's director of international football development, "who, even without a whole top order high school, NCAA run up, still have that potential to make the transition and jump up into being an NFL-caliber, at that point, no longer just an athlete but a player.”

When the IPP program began, the NFL allocated international athletes to just one division. It has steadily grown and, starting in 2024, all 32 NFL teams have been eligible to add one international player to their practice squad.

An athlete whose citizenship and principal place of residence are outside the United States and Canada and has a maximum of two years of high school experience in the U.S. can qualify for the program. They also have to satisfy all NFL player eligibility rules and have been eligible for a previous NFL draft. They can also play any position, from quarterback to punter.

“These guys being able to have this experience and then being able to leverage this experience to move forward as a leader in their community, I think is really cool,” said Skyler Fulton, the NFL’s head of the International Player Pathway program. “And that’s probably the part of the IPP program that doesn't really get a lot of attention is this isn’t judged on how many guys make it to the NFL. It’s judged on how many lives are we changing?”

The journeys for players often start by word of mouth, with athletes sometimes even contacting the NFL looking for an opportunity.

Helped in large part by Mark Dulgerian, the NFL’s director of international scouting, the league scouts players, builds a database of prospects from around the world and holds regional workouts — similar to the NFL combine held in Indianapolis before the draft — and film sessions in places such as Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, as well as Mexico, Africa, South and Central America and Australia/New Zealand.

“It’s an opportunity for us to spend extended time and to get our decision-makers all in one place where we can be around these guys, watch them operate,” Fulton said.

The list is whittled down and a small group of athletes is selected for the program — 13 from 12 nations were in the 2025 class — and invited to train in American football starting in January at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

“What that entails is a 10-week intensive training camp where they're really living, breathing, sleeping, eating football,” Long said.

Some will participate in the NFL combine in Indianapolis, where kicking specialists are invited to join as members of that year's IPP class. Athletes also showcase their skills in the University of South Florida’s pro day in March, where they'll be seen by NFL team scouts.

Players can then be drafted, if eligible, by NFL teams or signed as free agents. Each team is allowed one roster exemption for an international player during the offseason and that player can then be signed to an exempt 17th roster spot on the practice squad in the regular season.

Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata was the first player from the program drafted by an NFL team, when the former rugby league standout in Australia was taken by Philadelphia in the seventh round in 2018.

Offensive lineman Travis Clayton from the U.K. was drafted by Buffalo in the seventh round last year. The former rugby union standout is currently on the Bills' practice squad.

Nearly 100 international players have participated and more than 40 have signed with NFL teams since the IPP's inception.

In addition to Mailata, defensive end Efe Obada (Nigeria/United Kingdom), fullback Jakob Johnson (Germany), tight end Sammis Reyes (Chile), defensive tackle David Bada (Germany) and tight end Thomas Odukoya (Netherlands) have played in regular-season games.

Five players from this year's class of IPP athletes are currently on NFL practice squads: Atlanta Falcons kicker Lenny Krieg (Germany), Washington Commanders defensive end T.J. Maguranyanga (Zimbabwe/South Africa), Carolina Panthers linebacker Mapalo “Maz” Mwansa (United Kingdom/Zambia), Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Laki Tasi (Australia) and New York Jets offensive lineman Leander Wiegand (Germany).

“Whenever people ask me how is it, I always say it’s a blessing and a grind because there’s definitely a lot of work that comes with it,” Wiegand said. “And like they say, pressure is a privilege. And I really started to understand that the bigger league you play, the more pressure it is. But it’s been amazing.”

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FILE - Tennessee Titans tight end Thomas Odukoya (89) holds his hand on his heart during the national anthem before a preseason NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

FILE - Washington Commanders linebacker T.J. Maguranyanga (59) looks on after an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Landover. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr., File)

FILE - Offensive lineman Leander Wiegand, of Germany, participates in a drill at the NFL international scouting combine at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano, File)

FILE - Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata (68) walks across the field at halftime of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic state.

Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.

Iran previously closed its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June.

Here is the latest:

“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”

Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.

Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.

Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.

Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.

Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,

Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.

“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.

Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.

Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.

The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.

A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.

Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.

State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.

“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.

“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.

Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.

A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)