MANY Jamaican parents dream of seeing their children grow up to become the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, or perhaps even the future Leon Bailey or Khadija Shaw.

To fine-tune their technique, it is believed that a football academy provides the best solution for learning to play the game in ‘the right way’, as an academy puts more focus on learning the basics of playing rather than winning trophies in schoolboy football competitions.

But that dream may be unattainable because getting children into local football academies may prove too costly.

However, Total Football Academy (TFA) is striving to bring that dream to children from lower-income communities.

Officially started by Raymond Leveridge over 10 years ago, TFA has made grass roots development accessible to boys and girls with the aim of allowing them a platform to gain scholarships and ultimately improve their and their families’ standard of living.

He says while working at Wolmer’s Preparatory School, he recommended that parents send their boys who wanted to take football more seriously to join football clubs, but they told him they would rather he continue working with them. He says it was important for them to play right throughout the year if meaningful development of each player was to be gained.

“So, I took a chance on myself and I spoke to the parents,” he said. “I think that’s where the family value came in.

“After two years, our first success came in 2014 when we made both semi-finals and lost. In 2015, we made both finals and lost; in 2016, we made both finals again, won the knockout, and lost the league. In 2017 we were in both finals, so we continued to show our worth. Progressively, over the years we started getting interest from boys from other prep schools — St Hughes Prep, Mona Prep, Sts Peter and Paul — asking what I was doing.

“I shared with them that I have a constant programme going, and they asked if they could get their sons and daughters involved.”

Leveridge said he declined at first but then realised it was an income generator for his school. After Wolmer’s rejected the idea he started his own training sessions on Saturdays, and says TFA organically grew from there.

TFA typically accepts children as young as four years old, although there have been cases where three-year-olds deemed exceptional were also accepted. The academy has teams at various age groups, up to under-16.

“We’re now a very competitive and formidable academy that not just plays football, but impacts the lives of youngsters — both boys and girls,” Leveridge said.

This impact, he says, comes through community outreach.

“We started the Fun 50 in 2018, where we get boots for kids from lower-income backgrounds who just can’t afford them,” Leveridge said.

He is particularly proud of his Read and Feed programme.

“We provide meals on Saturdays,” he said. “When we go to tournaments we have parents who cook lunches for these boys. So, they come and don’t have to worry about eating breakfast, lunch, or even dinner before they go home.

“We also started a reading programme, and we’re collaborating with our feeding programme — Read and Feed. We’re pushing that out in the new term; and that’s where our boys come to training in the evening, and before or after training they will do lessons and get a meal.”

Leveridge says uniformity is vital to the success of his programme as he does not want visible indications to the children that some of them are from more modest backgrounds than others. This, he says, starts with ensuring that no one shows up in worn-out or tattered clothing, and everyone wears gear of the same standard. To afford to do this, TFA stages events such as cake sales.

“A lot of the boys, at the moment we actually pay the lunch money at their school canteens so that they get to school and know they have a meal waiting for them,” Leveridge said in a hushed tone.

That outreach, he said, also extends to the purchasing of books for those who cannot afford them.

To ensure no one feels left out in the sense of community, especially where absentee parents are concerned, parents will attend events such as prize-giving ceremonies for other children.

“We want these kids to get scholarships to prominent high schools,” Leveridge said. “The [St] George’s, the Wolmer’s…

“We also want our kids from the inner city to get a different cultural experience, getting them scholarships into prep schools.”

He says three have achieved this so far, while three elder boys have also received scholarships to attend Glenmuir High School. TFA also has a player who gained a scholarship for 80 per cent of his tuition at Woodstock Academy, in Woodstock, Connecticut, USA. This school, Leveridge says, was appealing because of its soccer programme.

“We hope that 10, 15, or 20 years down the road these boys will become young men in society who are contributing to the development of the nation,” Leveridge said.

While Leveridge’s efforts have already opened doors for several youngsters, the work of TFA also highlights the gaps in access and support that still exist for many children who want to pursue football seriously.

TFA’s growth reflects both the demand for structured, affordable training and the challenges faced by parents seeking the best for their children, even if a financial obstacle exists. Whether the academy can continue to bridge that gap on a larger scale remains to be seen but for now, it offers a crucial lifeline to those who might otherwise be left on the sidelines.

Tahiem Graham (right) of Dare To Dream Football Academy and Sanjae Solomon of Total Football Academy battle for the ball in a training match at the NWC Football Field in Mona, St Andrew, on Thursday afternoon. Garfield Robinson

Total Football Academy founder Raymond Leveridge (Garfield Robinson)