ANDREW Edwards, chairman and technical director of Genesis Football Academy, believes that since his organisation began operations in 2016 there has been great improvement in preparing the next generation of footballers to flourish in their careers.

Genesis Football Academy is based in Mandeville, Manchester, and attracts male and female participants ranging from ages four to 17, with training sessions taking place at Brooks Park three times a week — Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

Edwards stated that the academy’s key goals include preparing athletes to play for national teams, gaining access to scholarships, building their own facilities, and hosting their own tournaments.

“We actually do have a 10-year strategic development plan, and among the main targets in that strategic development plan is the preparation of athletes who will become national team players — you know, preparation of athletes who will access scholarships to universities locally and abroad,” Edwards told the
Jamaica Observer.

“We’re hoping to build out our own facility in the future, in the not-too-distant future. This year, for the first time, we hosted our own tournament. We have a tournament that we started in 2017, the Genesis Cup.

“So this year, we are going to have teams coming in from outside of the country. Most of them are from the Caribbean but we are very hopeful that we’ll have a few from the United States or Canada so those are some of the key things in terms of our development goals,” the chairman further said.

Edwards added that his academy has made significant progress, with several players going on to represent the country as well as feature in top-flight local football.

“Last December we went to Trinidad with three teams and we actually won the Under-11 championships down there so we know we are heading in the right direction,” Edwards said.

“I think we have been doing pretty, pretty good. We have had four young girls who have gone to the national under-14 and under-15 teams, and two of the four girls have actually represented the country: Nikacia Thompson and Amora Rowe. Amora Rowe did not actually start with us but she’s now with us full-time,” Edwards said.