FIRST Vice-President Carvel Stewart says the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) has no issues with academies existing within the confederation, however, work needs to be done to get a better coexistence between them and its clubs.

The debate about the place of academies within KSAFA arose last week after the body published a press release citing the need for all academies to be certified, as KSAFA is concerned about what it says is “the mushrooming of non-affiliated entities claiming to be football academies”.

Some academies took offence to this release, saying that they are being marginalised by KSAFA, which they believe thinks academies and clubs cannot functionally coexist.

But Stewart, like KSAFA President Mark Bennett did when speaking to the Jamaica Observer last week, disputes this.

“I don’t know why people think there are issues; there are realities, and others may make it into an issue,” Stewart told the Observer.

“Nobody is against anybody. My own view is that the academies should go and partner with the clubs because the clubs already have the mandate and it would bring better quality to them. There’s one already that exists and it’s going well.”

Stewart was referring to Benders Football Academy, which partners with Red Hills United Football Club (FC) in St Andrew.

“It will benefit both and it will bring better order to the administration because the clubs are already affiliated. And if the academies are partnering with the clubs there doesn’t need to be any other rules or regulation — they fall under KSAFA immediately,” he said.

Stewart, who is also Harbour View FC’s chairman, says this debate is creating a social divide in that academies are seen as only benefiting the middle and upper classes in Jamaica, but he says it does not have to be this way.

“My own club has had an academy for God knows how long,” he said. “How do you think Ricardo Gardner [former Jamaica and Bolton Wanderers player] came about?

“It generally has been [only for the benefit of the higher classes] but I would think if people invest, they could have academies in the lower-income communities. Clubs from these places do try to do their youth programmes but they don’t go as young as we would want them to. They don’t charge parents.

“I don’t want the uptown versus downtown thing either. That needs to stop. We know there are people who are more capable in our society and people who are less capable so we try and deal with everyone equally.”

There was supposed to be a meeting between KSAFA and academy stakeholders last Thursday, following the release of that document, but it was postponed to Monday night because of what KSAFA says was the unavailability of personnel due to the finals of its Major and Championship Leagues that weekend.

Boys’ Town won in the Championship League final, with Raheem Porter and Refeik Thomas scoring two goals each in a 4-2 win over Constant Spring, who got their goals through Javier Wilmot and Orville Mullings.

The Jamaica Defence Force defeated Olympic Gardens 2-0 in the Major League final, with goals from Tevin Cheese and Tejaun Williams.