GOVERNMENT is forking out $36 million for the shelved Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Academy in Malvern, St Elizabeth, which will be transformed into a “special” school for students with behavioural problems.

Information minister Daryl Vaz confirmed the sale figure for the three-acre property at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

“This facility is neccesary to address problems of violence and other antisocial behaviours among students,” said Vaz.

Last week, Education Minister Andrew Holness confirmed negotiations were underway with the JFF and offered that the special education facility would be opened by next January.

“We’ve identified a new property owned by the JFF, which they were to develop for training purposes, but will no longer be using, so we’ve engaged them in a purchase arrangement and Cabinet has approved this,” Holness said.

The Malvern property, situated close to Munro College, was selected by the Crenston Boxhill-led JFF in 2005 to house a FIFA-financed training camp for local footballers.

But returning president Captain Horace Burrell tossed out the idea and placed the property for sale on the open market when he regained office in 2007.

While Government’s $36 million is below the JFF’s $45 million asking price, the injection of funds is timely for a cash-starved organisation which was forced to downsize its technical programmes and other critical areas of operations in order to stay afloat.

Burrell, in 2003, first broke ground for a Football Academy to be sited in Portmore, St Catherine, but was booted from office and the FIFA funds used by Boxhill to start construction on the Malvern property.

In January, the JFF broke ground for its Football Academy for the third time at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), with the first phase of the project expected to be completed by September 30.