For Joshua King, his hometown Oslo, more specifically Romsås, has always meant a lot. For a long time, the 29-year-old has had a dream of giving something back and after over a year of pandemic, the dream is finally about to be realized. June 18-20, 200 hopeful girls and boys will experience “Joshua King Football Academy” for the first time.
– I am really exited. I remember even when I was young, it cost a lot of money to attend football school. There were many children who could not afford to attend football schools that cost 500 or 700 kroner, King says to TV 2 and continues:
– Therefore, I thought it would be fun to get something that is free, where the children can just enjoy it, have fun and be trained by coaches at a high level. We have achieved this and we have only received a positive response from sponsors, coaches and people who want to contribute. I’m really looking forward to seeing the faces of those kids, because I remember myself being one of them when I was young.
– It’s not all about money
The most important thing for King and his project is that the offer should be free for everyone. The Premier League pro has himself looked closely at what it is like when someone ends up outside due to financial challenges within the family. He is therefore aware that this event is not about making money.
– Unfortunately, not everyone who is an only child, or like me, was spoiled and got most of what I pointed out. There are some who have two or three siblings, and the most important things for that family are food, shelter and education. This is the most important thing for most parents. Therefore, free is the main goal here. If you have a family that earns 400,000 a year or if you have a father who earns three million a year, then you should be able to come to this football school, have fun and see that people actually care. It’s not all about money, King explains.
He himself remembers that as a young and promising man he got the opportunity to go to football school. Several of his friends were not so lucky.
– I had friends who were not allowed to join. It feels a little unfair when you are a group of friends who all hang out and play football in everyday life, then there are some who do not have parents with equally good finances. Then someone comes home from football school and talks about it, while the others feel a little outside, King says and adds:
– For me, it is an investment that you can give everyone an opportunity, regardless of their parents’ finances, to follow that dream.
Back to the roots
The football school was actually supposed to open last summer, but due to the pandemic, the start-up had to be postponed. Now both King and the general manager of the football school, Karl Henrik Felde, are ready to get started.
– It is thanks to the sponsors that we have the opportunity to create such a good and professional plan, and we are incredibly happy for the spirit of service that has made us achieve this. Now we are just looking forward to realizing this fantastic project, says Felde.
The football school will take place at Stovner, just a stone’s throw from Romsås, where King himself grew up. Now he wants to give back.
– I would not have been the person or football player I am today without Romsås or the environment that was there. When you came to the football field there was no nonsense, then it was just football. Of course, there were fights if someone was tackled or if someone tried to cheat, but training and playing with older boys gave me the confidence I took with me when I tried out and got a contract with Manchester United in 2015, King smiles.
– What does it give you to do this?
– I have always been a “giver” and not a “receiver”. I always think it’s better to give. It’s me as a person. I’ve got everything and I have everything I need in life, plus plus. I have had a good career and I have many years left. But when you give something to people, and especially children, it is ten times better than getting something, the 29-year-old explains.
Unsure of their own coaching skills
Although the Norwegian national team striker has played under some of the most deserving coaches in football, including Carlo Ancelotti, he does not think he will take on the role of head coach during football school.
– He-he, well, I do not know if I should join as a coach. I have to be there all the time, I have to. I have two children myself, so I do not think it will be so difficult. I love to see the faces of young children when they have fun and enjoy themselves, but if I’m going to be the coach … I don ‘t think that’s going to happen. Those who are actually qualified can do it, so I do not have to pretend to be the coach, King laughs.
– But you have played under a couple of useful coaches, so you know some tricks, right?
– Yes, I could have trained the kids, but if I am going to train 200 children in two or three days, I think … I want to try to give and teach the children just as much. I want to give them a smile on their face and I want them to think that they will be as big as me, or bigger. Then I will try to bring some friends who may surprise the children, says the Everton striker, who admits that the dream in the long run is that “Joshua King Football Academy” will become a national program.
– I hope it will be a good thing, that people like it and that the children like it, that is the most important thing. Then I aim to perhaps expand it to the fact that it is not only in Oslo, but that it will be in districts all over Norway, so that kids have something to look forward to. It would have been fun to have a national football school that was free every summer holiday, which the children looked forward to and where they did not have to worry about whether mum and dad could afford it, King concludes.
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