KSAFA, Valeo moving to develop young football talent

President and chief executive officer of United States-based, Valeo Football Academy, Emelio Williams has made a commitment to assist with developing the skills of local players and their coaches.

Speaking at the launch of the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA)/Valeo Football Academy at the Scotiabank Sports club on Tuesday, Williams, a former St Jago High Manning Cup player ,said Jamaica has always possessed immense talent. However, he said, Jamaica lacks a system which can properly develop players and coaches.

"Travel is a large part of the programme. Experiencing different cultures, ways of playing football, different ways of training is great exposure. Only when they see the world they know what is possible," Williams said.

Valeo will take teams from the local academy to the USA and enter them in some national tournaments. They will also travel to Portugal and train at their facilities there.

The academy will also host combines for top Spanish and Portuguese clubs annually, and they intend to host one in Jamaica this year.

"We are looking to bring Sporting (Lisbon) or a Spanish first division club to play a combine here. Last year we had Sporting (Lisbon).

Before that we had Barcelona and also Liverpool. They came with their academy coaches and spent two or three weeks looking at players.

Looking for talent

"These coaches are looking for talent, so you have to be at your best and that's why we advocate training and preparation, because luck is when preparation meets opportunity," he reasoned.

The project got underway last year at the Barbican Football field on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The academy's aim is to develop KSAFA's elite players into world class footballers.

The programme will focus on players between the ages of eight and 16, but main focus will be on the 13-15 age groups. There are also plans to assist with infrastructure development.

"In the US every community has a turf field, so you can play on a flat smooth surface.

I don't see why Jamaica can't have turf fields. So that will be one of our major initiatives this year," he stated.

KSAFA president, Wayne Shaw, said this development was very significant for the future of local football.

"For us to get to a next World Cup this is the way we have to go. We have to be looking to 2026 and these players being developed now are the ones we will be expecting to see in 2026," Shaw said.