There has been, it seems, a seismic shift in Jamaica’s football as Englishman Peter Gould unveiled his multimilliondollar plans for the Mount Pleasant Sports Academy.

Nestled in the hills of St Ann and less than five minutes from the Runaway Bay main road, the Mount Pleasant Academy will be built on 88 acres of land owned by Gould since 2015.

Over the years there have been numerous calls for youth development and the establishment of football academies and Gould, a successful real estate developer, has come to the fore for Mount Pleasant and he explains why:

“Because I fell in love with Jamaica, and it’s a challenge, as you can see the poverty in the villages surrounding us. Everyone told me not to go to the community. I chose not to listen,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Formed in 2016, Mount Pleasant Football Club, formerly “Stush in the Bush”, has been kicking up a storm. In a short space of time, it is on the verge of qualifying for Jamaica’s top football competition — the Red Stripe Premier League.

But all this would not be possible without the input of Gould, who claims he was once a business partner with Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich at Chelsea.

“I was behind the scene for many years… more in the business side of the club. So much for business; I wasn’t paid a salary, it was for love,” noted Gould.

“I was involved with Ruud Gullit, Glen Hoddle, (Gianluca) Vialli, Mark Hughes, etc,” Gould revealed.

The Mount Pleasant Academy is expected to feature four football fields, including a high-end artificial turf; stands around the main field, dormitories, canteen, physio labs, staff quarters, classrooms to accommodate 60 students, and several security points.

There will also be multi-purpose sports court and a yoga centre.

“It’s all about the kids, that’s the true story. We are not going to sell the kids at 13, 14, we going to grow them here. There are some great talents and great coaches here and we can bring them up into teenagers before they go away if they decide to,” said Gould.

“But not everyone is going to be a great footballer, and so my aim is to give them education. They have to know 4×4 before they put their football boots on,” he emphasised.

When pressed, Gould refused to divulge the budget for clearly a multimillion dollar project, which hopes to officially open for business by September.

“I will let you know when it’s over. We got 88 acres here. You have seen the ground and you realise it’s not flat in the middle. We have been going six weeks with the machines, but when we get there I will let you know,” he said with a smile.

“In financial terms there isn’t a budget; it’s a project. I am old enough and experienced not to put a number on because it always exceeds,” Gould explained.

“I know the guys are working 12-hour days and we will try to get it done in September. It’s a project without a budget as I am paying the bill, and I am happy to pay as long as they are working,” he added.

“Unfortunately it’s a not for profits, but if I am the luckiest man in the world, I would probably get my money back. But it’s for the love,” he said with a laugh.

He continued: “But I am going to commercialise it. I will sit down with some people to carry on when I am gone.”