Simon Barry, former Steve Biko and Africell Sait Matty midfield maestro is set to establish a football academy as part of his personal contribution towards the development of football in the country.

The academy named after Sea View School of Talents Academy, according to the initiator, would be launched in November if everything goes well.

“There is the need to be actively involved in sports, particularly football which is one endeavour that every Gambian is enthusiastic about. I am with the optimism that my intervention in helping the future stars would prove vital,” the former star midfielder was quoted as saying by our reporter yesterday.

Corn Barry as he is widely known who was the founder of the GFA Division One giants Sea View in 2004, led the hotel club to their first-ever knock-out title, the same year they appeared in the Bakau Nawettan as the Head Coach, assisted by Badou Samba and Papa Njie, who according to him, were both formidable players during their playing days before leaving the country for a greener pasture.

Another reason of initiating Sea View School of Talents Academy, Corn Barry, added was to enrol the young talents in order to prepare them much better since the future of sports, particularly football lies on the shoulders of future stars that are graduating from the ranks of the under-10 to 17 years.

Simon who walked into Point office on Tuesday, alongside the African champions’ duo Pateh Nyang, Kemo Fatty, alias Papa Sarr and Steve Biko midfielder, Ebrima Dampha used the platform to encourage parents to allow their kids to come forward to register with the new academy.

Corn Barry is commended by many for the great role he continued to play towards the recruitment of youngsters, which Pateh Nyang and Kemo Fatty are no exception.

He proudly told Pointsport’s Lamin Drammeh that he is more than delighted to watch the duo representing their country at a very tender age with something to be optimistic about. He challenged other stars, such as Samseedin Badjie, Ebrima Sinyan and Ndow Jallow, who have all gone through his academy to emulate them.