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ompeting with other international soccer schools in one of world’s largest soccer-mad nations, Indonesia, Premier League side Liverpool FC  will establish an international academy and soccer schools in June to aid the country’s sports development, claiming it would not only groom young Indonesian players the “Liverpool way”, but also give them a shot at the world stage.

The huge number and strong fanaticism of soccer fans in Indonesia convinced the LFC Academy to open a franchise in the country, its first in Asia.

One of the LFC Academy’s partners, the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia, said it could not ignore the number of the club’s fans in the country.

“All this started by continued disbelief that Indonesia can’t produce a couple of really top-class footballers and had actually started importing footballers to nationalize them to get them into the national team,” British Chamber of Commerce CEO Chris Wren said at a press conference on Friday.

“So allied with everything that was going on and how it was developing and progressing, it seemed really logical to give fans of Liverpool and also all the kids an opportunity to show off and develop their talents. Even if they’re not stars, it’s a chance to simply develop as individuals,” he added.

“There will be two ways for kids to join the program: commercial and scholarship,” Andhika Suksmana, an official at the LFC Academy in Indonesia, said.

Andhika, who heads Indonesia’s Big Reds, Liverpool’s official supporters’ club in the country, said
the LFC Academy’s scholarships differentiated it from other similar establishments.

“We will go on a roadshow across the nation and organize local tournaments for talent scouting opportunities. We will pick talented children and bring them to the academy in Jakarta.

“At the academy, they will receive training not only in soccer, but also other important aspects including education, English language and behavior, knowledge of sports science and sports injury,” Andhika said.

The LFC Academy has also received a license to organize the Liverpool FC International Academy Junior League. It said it would set up other academies and soccer schools possibly in Medan, Makassar, Surabaya and eastern Indonesia.

One of the academy’s coaches in Indonesia, Paul Barrat, said he was confident about training Indonesian children.

“We are going to see them for ourselves and see [what level] Indonesian sports and kids are up to, so we can compare it with UK standards. We can start things from there and will see in six [to] twelve months,” Barrat said, adding that any significant results from the training program may be seen in four or five years.

“Later, the [Indonesian players] don’t have to make a living in Liverpool, they can make it in any club in Europe, and the US is starting to get big. It could be a motivation, an aim to look forward to,” he added.

Amid troubles within the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), Andhika said the academy would only focus on developing young Indonesian talents.

“However, we really hope whoever leads the PSSI will pay extra attention to young talent.”

Apart from Indonesia, LFC international academies have also been established in Cyprus and Norway, among other countries.