Former Sutton United hero Marvin Williams says the club’s new football academy will give the stars of tomorrow a genuine shot at professional football.

Tuesday’s launch of the Sutton United Football Academy is the first of three major announcements by the club – with the others coming after the rearranged Bromley game next Tuesday (March 3).

Williams, who left United earlier this season after injury curtailed his career, has teamed up with Nescot College in Epsom to provide a mixture of studying for a Btec in sport and football training with Uefa licence coaches.

Williams said: “It’s a chance for young players in the area who, at the moment, don’t quite have the potential to make the grade at the academy of a professional club, but are too good for grassroots football – we believe our academy can bridge that gap.

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Head up: Marvin Williams in action for Sutton United 

“These boys will go to college at Nescot in the morning, then have football in the afternoon.”

He added: “Nescot have been fantastic and they are very much on board. We’re lucky to have such a well-renowned college in the area to work alongside us on this.

“At the same time, working with Sutton United makes perfect sense to me.

“We’ve been speaking with Paul Doswell [United manager] about the steps forward the club wants to make in terms of the community, giving opportunities to younger players and bringing in a more diverse and younger set of fans, as well as maintaining the set of fans we have right now, and the academy is a fantastic way of doing that.”

Despite offering the opportunity to youngsters to forge a career in football, Williams insists he is not offering any false dreams.

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Learning the ropes: Academy students will mix football training with academic pursuits at Nescot College in Epsom

And it is not all about playing football as there are other avenues open to graduates.

He said: “Not every single person who wants to become a footballer will get that chance, but at the academy they will get an education at the same time.

“If they do not make the grade, there are openings in coaching and other areas to keep them in the sport.

“But those players who are good enough to cut the grade have the opportunity at United to build themselves a career.

“We will never sell these boys false dreams and say ‘You will definitely make it’.”

He added: “All we will give these boys is a genuine opportunity with Dos and James Bracken – they know if they do well, we have a first team manager and a reserve team manager who will take a look.”

From a personal perspective, Williams’ close affection for Sutton United means it is not all about the job.

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“It’s an honour to work with United. I could have gone to any other club and create this academy, but United is a club that I hold so close to my heart because they looked after me so well when I was injured, whereas another club may have closed the door on me,” he said.

“This is a chance for me to give something back to the club and I know we will produce an academy that will represent the club in terms of its professionalism.

“Hopefully we’ll also uncover a couple of gems that will go on to do well for the first team.”

Trials take place at Gander Green Lane on March 24 and 25, as well as additional dates in May and June.

For details on the application process go to suttonunited.net.