COPA STC Partners With FC Köln Football School and Warubi Sports to Create International Pathways for COPA Score Identified Players
A multi-year partnership that turns objective player data from The COPA Score into real opportunity: 1. FC Köln scouts at COPA events, monthly player recommendations, an opportunity for US players to compete and develop in Europe, and extended residency for those ready to commit.
Walnut Creek, California & Cologne, Germany — June 2026
COPA Soccer Training Center (COPA STC) is proud to announce a formal multi-year partnership with FC Köln Football School — the official football school of Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln — and Warubi Sports, the partner of the 1. FC Köln International Talent Program. Together, the three organizations have built a structured, multi-stage international pathway that connects COPA’s objective talent identification ecosystem to Bundesliga-level scouting, professional development programming, and international playing opportunities in Europe’s most densely populated football region.
The partnership is built around multiple activations, each creating a different form of player access, exposure, or development opportunity.
At a Glance — What This Partnership Means for Players
What it is: A formal multi-year partnership connecting COPA’s talent identification ecosystem (powered by The COPA Score) to 1. FC Köln International Talent Program and European football experiences with Warubi handling program management.
What it means for players: 1. FC Köln ITP scouts attend COPA Talent ID Days. Top-performing players are identified monthly through our assessment database. Select players travel to Germany to train and compete. Serious players can access extended residency inside a professional Bundesliga training environment (1. FC Köln ITP)
How to take part: Take the COPA Score. The assessment is the entry point to every pathway in this partnership — from monthly recommendations to Talent ID Day invitations to international selection.
Why This Partnership Exists
COPA’s mission has always been to give players honest, objective information about where they stand — and then build the infrastructure to turn that clarity into opportunity. This partnership is the most direct international expression of that mission to date.
From the start of discussions with 1. FC Köln Football School and Warubi Sports, one thing was clear: both organizations see objective player data as a genuine scouting asset. The COPA Score provides a standardized, repeatable identification environment that serious international programs can build a real pipeline on. Warubi themselves have committed to the development of both players and coaches with many alumni advancing to successful collegiate and professional careers. Most notably, the current FC Köln Bundesliga Head Coach René Wagner co-founded Warubi.
Where This Partnership Takes Players
FC Köln Scouts at COPA Talent ID Days
COPA’s Talent ID Days are invitation-only free showcase events for the highest-performing players in the COPA Score ecosystem. Players earn their invitation through their assessment data — not a registration fee. That distinction matters.
At COPA’s February 2026 event, 1. FC Köln Football School staff attended as official partners for the first time, evaluating players live and flagging ten individuals for follow-up consideration. 1. FC Köln scouts will continue attending future Talent ID Days as a core element of the partnership.
“We’re excited to work with COPA STC because they bring a serious player identification environment in The United States. The goal is simple: give ambitious players a clear, credible pathway from the U.S. into a professional European training environment connected to 1. FC Köln.”
— Simon Scheibe, Sporting director for 1. FC Köln Football School
Monthly Player Identification Through the COPA Score
Talent identification through this partnership is not limited to showcase events. Each month, high performing age-eligible players in the COPA Score database will be identified and contacted with further information on opportunities, with some receiving direct invites to The Warubi Futures program, a 10-day professional training experience held in Germany annually.
Warubi Futures — An Immersive Training Week in Germany
Each summer, selected COPA players travel to Cologne for the Warubi Futures program — a seven-day immersive football residency for high-potential players aged 15 to 19.
Futures is not a tourist camp. It is a week of daily professional training, competitive matches, and genuine cultural immersion inside the German football environment — an experience designed to show players exactly what committing to European football looks and feels like from the inside.
“For us, this is not just about exposure. It’s about preparing players properly, identifying the right profiles, and helping them understand what the European football environment demands on and off the field.”
— Herbert Biste, Founder Warubi Sports
For players ready to make a serious commitment, the 1. FC Köln International Talent Program (ITP) is the deepest pathway in the partnership. Players relocate to Cologne for three, six, or ten months, training five times per week under UEFA-licensed FC Köln coaches at the Ostkampfbahn — directly adjacent to the Rhein Energie STADION, home of 1. FC Köln.
The program includes up to four competitive matches per month, individualized video analysis, performance assessments, and continuous observation by 1. FC Köln academy scouts. Off the pitch, participants take German language courses and have access to continued education — through high school programs, university tracks, or professional licensing pathways. The ITP has been running since 2018 and is open to male players aged 16 to 23. A dedicated women’s track launched Summer 2025.
Program fees apply. COPA and Warubi ensure every identified player has full clarity on what is involved before any commitment is made.
1. FC Köln Football School coaches travel to Walnut Creek annually to run camps for players aged 9 to 14, delivering Bundesliga coaching methodology directly at COPA STC. The first camp is slated for late 2026, with 1. FC Köln staff serving as lead instructors across a multi-day program.
For younger players in the COPA ecosystem, this is an opportunity to train under European coaching standards long before they are ready for anything international. Each camp also includes a dedicated coaching education component for COPA STC staff — an investment that extends the impact of the collaboration well beyond event day and into the everyday development environment at COPA STC.
Built on Shared Evidence
What makes this partnership function — and what makes it different from a standard club affiliation — is the data layer connecting all five pathways. Every scouting decision, every monthly recommendation, every player introduced to 1. FC Köln Football School or selected for Warubi Futures begins with the same COPA Score, measured against the same Bundesliga academy reference group.
Most international recruitment runs on highlight reels and one-off tryouts. This partnership runs on a measured, repeatable assessment — applied the same way every time, to every player, regardless of club affiliation, geography, or background.
“At COPA, we are always looking for meaningful pathways for players who have genuine aspirations to play at the next level and the drive to pursue new experiences. This partnership with 1. FC Köln is a natural extension of that commitment. We’ve built something that creates real international opportunity, founded in objective performance data. We’re proud of what this collaboration has already produced and excited to see it formalized at this level.”
— Barry McCabe, Director, COPA STC
Looking Ahead
1. FC Köln scouts have already been at COPA events. Players have already been identified. The first Warubi Futures trained in Germany in June 2026. 1. FC Köln Football School coaches will be in Walnut Creek before the end of 2026.
For any player who has taken a COPA Score, this partnership changes what that assessment can mean. For any player who hasn’t yet — there has never been a better reason to start.
Get Started
Book Your COPA Score: copastc.com/copascore
About COPA Soccer Training Center
COPA Soccer Training Center (COPA STC) is Northern California’s leading soccer training and talent identification facility, based in Walnut Creek, CA. The COPA Score is the data foundation behind every player pathway COPA creates.
About 1. FC Köln Football School
The 1. FC Köln Football School is the official football school of 1. FC Köln, a Bundesliga club founded in 1948 and one of Germany’s most storied professional clubs. The Football School runs the club’s Youth and International Talent Program from the Ostkampfbahn training ground in Cologne, with a youth academy rated three stars by the DFL — the highest possible score.
About Warubi Sports
Founded in 2017, Warubi Sports is a soccer management company specializing in connecting players and coaches between Europe and the United States. As the official North American partner of the FC Köln International Talent Program, Warubi has supported more than 1,000 players and coaches worldwide, with a network spanning over 1,500 college coaches and professional clubs across Europe.
Contact
Barry McCabe
COPA STC —Director, COPA STC
assessments.wc@copastc.com