What’s the story?
Former Kerala Blasters player-cum-coach David James will be returning to the state in order to help the budding players grow. The 46-year-old featured for the Blasters in the first season of Indian Super League, and helped his team to the final of the tournament.
The former Portsmouth shot-stopper will join Sportico Ventures and will be the head of coaching for two of their academies. While one set-up is based out of Kochi, the other is situated in Malappuram.
"We conduct football camps every year and this time we decided to bring in someone with more experience in coaching. David James is a known figure in Kerala and he has agreed to head the coaching activities of the entire academy," a source close to the player manager firm, based in Kochi, informed TOI.
In case you didn’t know...
The former England international has played for clubs like Watford, Liverpool, West Ham United, Manchester City and Bournemouth et al in a glorious 26-year-long career. James was also holder of the most Premier League clean sheet record with 169 clean sheets until Petr Cech overtook him in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth in 2015.
The heart of the matter
The academy will open in the first week of May and will run through a two-month period. However, the ex-Liverpool man himself won’t be staying in Kerala for the whole period. He will return to England after the first two weeks of the summer camp but will keep visiting the state occasionally to audit the running of the institute.
James will play a big role in the construction of a curriculum of the academy, which is open to children between 8 and 14 years of age.
What’s Next
After donning the gloves for Blaster in the first ISL season, James informed the club that he won’t be playing for them anymore but can take the responsibilities of a coach. However, the idea did not come to fruition. Now, with a return to Kerala, he will be vying to make sure that he helps some of the budding players from the football-crazy state develop into future stars.
Author’s Take
The move from James is a welcome one and the addition of such a big star will help the academy attract children who see their future in the sport. Football is slowly spreading its roots in the country and here’s hoping that more such international stars follow in the footsteps of the 46-year-old.
