Charlton Athletic have announced a long-term partnership with Jamaican football academy Mount Pleasant.

The Mount Pleasant Academy (MPA) is a charitable organisation offering talented children throughout the Caribbean fully-funded boarding school scholarships. MPA’s first team are the current Jamaica Premier League champions, with their very-own Demario Phillips being called up to represent the Reggae Boyz just last year.

The aim of the ‘Mountain to the Valley Partnership’ will provide a clear pathway to playing professional football in London for the next generation of Caribbean footballers, whilst allowing Mount Pleasant to benefit from the knowledge, experience and expertise of Charlton’s academy.

Paul Elliot, Non-Executive Director of Charlton - and Charlton Academy graduate of Jamaican descent - said: “This long-term, strategic partnership will allow Charlton to dramatically increase the talent pool our brilliant academy is able to draw from. A lot of Charlton’s most successful homegrown players of the last 50 years have been of Jamaican origin - including many in the current team - so there is also a really good cultural fit.”

This move showcases just how much football is a global game. Jamaica’s stocks on the world stage have increased in recent years and with the help of such partnerships, and not only will more talent be discovered, but the nation’s football credentials will continue to rise in the process.