LFCIA graduate, Loic Thomas, is heading to USA after being awarded a 4-year football scholarship at Jones College

Côte d’Or National Sports Complex is excited to announce that Loic Thomas, one of the most prolific graduated players of the Liverpool Football Club International Academy Mauritius, has been granted a 4-year football scholarship to take his future to the next level. During the successful LFC UK Tour in July 2022, Loic instantly caught the attention of a few colleges on the pitch with his natural flair for the game and was eventually scouted by an American football scholarship agent.

To make the dream of Loic come true, the Trust Fund for Excellence in Sports (TFES) supported him with a financial boost of Rs 243,000. The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports, and Recreation (MYESR) played an important role for introducing the LFCIA in Mauritius in August 2019 and the support has been continuous since the start.

The young attacking midfielder has been a member of the LFCIA since its inception in 2019 and he was a key player in the super-talented 2004 A-Team, which graduated from the academy in 2022. Loic is very resourceful and during his UK trip, he displayed ample abilities to match the demanding criteria and academic capacity to meet the football scholarship’s expectations required for such a once-a-lifetime break. Loic has chosen Jones College in Mississippi which has a great history dating back to 1911. The college is reputed for developing young talents and for winning state championships as well as giving exposure to their teams in the USA national championships. Loic has already built an excellent relationship with the Head Coach and team members of his new football team.

Head Coach of LFCIA Mauritius, Neil Murphy says, “Professionally, this is one of the proudest moments in my career. To have this kind of impact on one of our graduates’ lives is one of the many reasons that the LFCIA was brought over to Mauritius. Loic is a model student and a football player who thoroughly deserves this opportunity to develop himself both, on and off the pitch, in the United States of America. His time in the states will only develop him and the nation’s prospects when he returns.”

Head Coach of Jones College, Brendan Connolly reveals, “We were seriously impressed with Loïc the first time we talked with him. He has good technical ability and a fantastic attitude towards the game. At Jones College, he will gain a valuable education alongside playing football at a high level and he will continue playing football after his time at Jones and his education will stand him in good stead. We hope that Loïc is the first of many players from Mauritius to join Jones. We are always looking for the best talent to bring to the US and we know the level of players produced by Liverpool Football Academy Mauritius is very high.”

Biography of Loic Thomas
– Date of birth: 02.12.2004 (18 years old)
– Position: Attacking midfielder
– Height: 1m75cm
– Weight: 70kg
– Favourite player: Cristiano Ronaldo
– LFCIA journey: An original member of the academy for the past 4 years since 2019