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Marietta (Ga.) to play in London versus NFL Academy in 2026

IMG_8358by: Andy Villamarzo4 hours agoAndy_Villamarzo

When the Marietta Blue Devils (Ga.) get into the beginning stages of their 2026 Georgia high school football season, they’ll be packing their bags and heading across the pond.

The Blue Devils’ football program posted on their official handle Tuesday night, announcing that they will face NFL Academy next 2026 season on Aug. 21 in Loughborough, United Kingdom.

NFL Academy faced three teams from the United States this past season, with the England-based team facing Edgewater, IMG Academy and St. Thomas Aquinas. The performance academy traveled to the United States for the games against the Eagles and Ascenders, respectively, while the Raiders visited London and played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The NFL Academy’s headquarters in London is over at Loughborough University, with the other location for the elite football development campuses second located on the Gold Coast in Australia.

This matchup continues the series of high school football programs from the Southeast United States traveling overseas to take on the NFL Academy, with the latest two schools being Edgewater, IMG Academy and St. Thomas Aquinas. In 2024, the Fighting Eagles traveled from Orlando to the United Kingdom and won a wild 51-45 contest against the elite performance academy.

When it comes to playing some of the top high school football programs out of the United States, NFL Academy has sought out the best competition, with the academy facing the likes of such as Edgewater, Massillon (Ohio), De La Salle (Calif.), IMG Academy and St. Thomas Aquinas. NFL Academy currently holds an overall record of 2-8 against American-based teams, but is unbeaten against European opponents.

The connection between Marietta and NFL Academy could stem from the relationship forged by Blue Devils’ head coach Cam Duke, who faced the elite football team in 2024 when he was at Edgewater. Now coaching in Georgia, Duke will get the opportunity to take his new team across the Atlantic Ocean.

Marietta went 5-6 in Duke’s first season at the helm as the Blue Devils qualified for Georgia’s GHSA Class 6A postseason.

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