Reigning Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions Mount Pleasant Academy and English Football League One representatives Charlton Athletic have engaged a partnership with the long-term aim to further improve the quantity of elite players graduating from the club’s esteemed academy.

Mount Pleasant Academy (MPA) is a charitable organization offering talented children from throughout the Caribbean fully-funded boarding school scholarships.  The club has also provided two members of the current Reggae Boyz squad, as have the Addicks, in Michael Hector and Karoy Anderson.

The 'Mountain to Valley Partnership’ will provide a clear pathway for young, talented Caribbean footballers to play professionally in London, and will also allow Mount Pleasant to benefit from the knowledge, experience and expertise of Charlton's academy.

Non-Executive Director Paul Elliott CBE MBE, a Charlton academy graduate, who himself has Jamaican roots said the partnership is a strategic one that will prove beneficial to both parties.

“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,” Elliott said.

Mount Pleasant’s owner Peter Gould echoed similar sentiments.

“This Memorandum of Understanding is a symbol of the solid partnership and mutual commitment to the development of football talent in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. This will help move regional football forward as young athletes will get an opportunity to hone their skills and develop their talents outside of the region,” Gould noted.

As Mount Pleasant continues to showcase its unique blend of Football and Academics, Sporting Director Paul Christie pointed out that the academy is already fortunate enough to attract many of the very best young players from throughout the Caribbean.

“Our belief is that this partnership with such a renowned London club will make us even more of an attractive proposition for talent. Charlton and Mount Pleasant have long-standing connections at many levels, from our respective ownerships to directors to coaching staff, so we are going to be building on firm foundations,” Christie reasoned.

Charlton’s academy was ranked eighth in England as of 2022 and long-standing Academy Director Steve Avory pointed to quality recruitment as key to a successful academy.

“Our recruitment of talented players in the immediate Charlton catchment area has been a key factor in our success and youth development over so many years. It all starts with talent ID,” Avory said.

“The Mount Pleasant partnership is an interesting, potentially fruitful, link outside of our south and east London focus and I know Bert Dawkins [Academy Recruitment Manager], who has been over to Jamaica to visit Mount Pleasant, is very positive about the possibilities with player recruitment from an emergent CONCACAF academy programme.,” he added.

As part of the various commitments underpinning the partnership, Charlton’s young players will take part in an annual youth tournament at Mount Pleasant’s campus, while the Addicks will host Mount Pleasant’s senior side in an annual pre-season charity match at The Valley.

Team manager Paul Christie said he was rendered speechless by news of the sudden death of Dunbeholden FC midfielder Tremaine’s Stewart this morning.