Sixteen teenagers are about to get the soccer opportunity of a lifetime — and all it costs them is showing up.
Abbott and Real Madrid are kicking off the second year of the Abbott Dream Team program, a nationwide search targeting 18- and 19-year-old soccer players across the United States. The initiative blends competitive tryouts with health education, ultimately sending 16 selected athletes — men and women — on a fully funded trip to Madrid to train at Real Madrid’s official facilities and watch a match live at the Santiago BernabĂ©u Stadium. Selection events begin May 19 in Miami and run through June 9 in Chicago. The program is free to enter, and the prize is, frankly, hard to overstate.
Six Cities, One Shot
Tryouts are scheduled in six cities: Miami on May 19, Washington D.C. on May 21, Houston on May 27, Kansas City on June 2, Los Angeles on June 4, and Chicago on June 9. Every participant — not just the finalists — walks away with something tangible: an Abbott Dream Team adidas jersey, an Abbott health toolkit, on-field development sessions led by Real Madrid coaches, and sports nutrition guidance from Abbott specialists. That’s a meaningful return on a free registration.
For the 16 who make the cut, though, the reward escalates considerably. Abbott has outlined a fully covered package that includes round-trip airfare, five nights of accommodation, all meals, soccer training sessions, educational programming, local transportation, gifts, and spending money. Nothing out of pocket. Real Madrid’s facilities. The BernabĂ©u. It’s the kind of trip most soccer fans spend years dreaming about and never take.
Marcelo Steps In as Mentor
This year’s program comes with a notable addition: Marcelo, the Brazilian left back widely considered one of Real Madrid’s all-time greats, will serve as a mentor for the selected players. He’s not just lending his name to a press release, either. “Young players can’t reach their full potential without a strong nutritional foundation,” he said, “and I’m excited to work with Abbott to help the next generation build the habits and skills that fueled my career.” That’s a credible messenger — Marcelo won five UEFA Champions League titles with the club and was a fixture at the BernabĂ©u for over a decade.
Still, the program isn’t purely about soccer glory. Abbott’s emphasis throughout is on health literacy as much as athletic development. Melissa Brotz, Abbott’s Chief Marketing, Communications and Sustainability Officer, put it plainly: “Good health is critical to success on and off the pitch, and this program gives players lifelong tools they can carry with them well beyond their athletic careers.” It’s a subtle but deliberate framing — this isn’t just a talent showcase, it’s a health education initiative wearing a soccer jersey.
More Than a Trip to Madrid
What happens after the players come home matters too. Selected Dream Team members are expected to return to their communities and lead health and nutrition sessions with local soccer clubs and youth organizations. The idea is to create a ripple effect — turning 16 teenagers into ambassadors for healthy habits in neighborhoods across the country. Whether that translates meaningfully in practice will depend on the players themselves, but the structure at least points in a thoughtful direction.
Abbott, for its part, isn’t a newcomer to this space. The company has been Real Madrid’s Global Health Sciences and Nutrition Partner for years, providing research-based dietary guidance to the club’s first men’s and women’s teams as well as its Academy. That partnership draws on what Abbott describes as more than 135 years of heritage in health sciences. Real Madrid, meanwhile, doesn’t need much of an introduction: 15 European Cups in football, 11 in basketball, a FIFA designation as the best club of the twentieth century, and the distinction of being the highest-earning football club in the world for the 2024–25 season.
Why It Matters
Here’s the thing: programs like this don’t come around often for players at this age and level. Eighteen and nineteen is a pivotal window — old enough to absorb serious training concepts, young enough that good habits can still take root and stick. The combination of elite coaching, genuine health education, and the symbolic weight of the Real Madrid brand is, at minimum, a serious motivator. And unlike many corporate sports programs that exist primarily as marketing vehicles, this one has a curriculum behind it.
Players interested in trying out can find registration details and eligibility requirements at abbottdreamteam.com. The events are free, the coaching is real, and the stakes — for some kid in Miami or Kansas City with a dream and decent touch on the ball — couldn’t feel much higher.
Marcelo won his trophies over two decades of elite competition. The next generation gets five cities, a tryout field, and a chance to start building something of their own.
