Former Ghana international John Paintsil has revealed setting up an academy to produce the next generation of Ghanaian football stars.
The retired right-back named it after himself, John Paintsil Football Academy.
“Right now I am building my academy, John Paintsil Football Academy,” Paintsil revealed on TV3.
“I want to give chance to talented players who want to be like some of us. The age limit is 15 to 19 years because it is good to catch them young.
“What John Paintsil Academy is doing now is going to lower areas and picking players because myself I was discovered from Berekum,” he added.
Paintsil’s academy is taking shape nicely, with the defender who played at two World Cups thinking about impacting more youngsters.
He said: “This June we are trying to pick the kids from 8 to 15 years and give them the opportunity because now most students are home for long vacation.
We want to seize the opportunity to get more youngsters on board and also ease the pressure on parents. We will pick the children from their homes in the morning and when their parents close from work, they can come for them.”
Paintsil brought his playing career to an end in 2016 and straightaway took up coaching. He was appointed assistant coach of South African giants Kaizer Chiefs.
He departed in 2017, and since then he has been working on getting to the highest level in coaching. At some point, he was training former Ghanaian champions WA All Stars, now known as Legon Cities following a successful takeover.
Now, 40 years, Paintsil says his coaching inspiration comes from respected English manager Roy Hodgson. The two worked together at Fulham.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana