After the announcement of the new Wisbech Town FC Academy coming in the 2025/26 season, Wisbech can confirm that a new Academy Director has been hired in Liam De Silva.

Liam joins Wisbech after a 2 year spell with King’s Lynn Town as Head of Recruitment and played a role in the success of Kings Lynn Town Academy over the past 2 seasons.

Liam sat down with our head of social media Erin Larham to discuss the new role and provide a bit more information about the academy.

“So Liam what inspired you to start the academy?”

“Having known about Wisbech Town from my time at Kings Lynn, I was shocked to find out how few youth teams we have. I have always been a believer in youth and developing your own players. I pitched this to the Chairman (Paul Brenchley) which he agreed and it blossomed from there.”

“Why did you choose Wisbech Town FC?”

“I had already been asked to help with some coaching with the new U15 girls team that have their first fixture under the lights at Wisbech on the 7th January. It then seemed to be the perfect platform to create an academy and have my business work in partnership with the club. I was very impressed with how everyone helps each other to drive the club forward and felt this was the perfect platform to start something really special.

“What is the long term goal of the Academy?”

“Our goals are very simple, we want to create First Team footballers for our men and women’s teams for years to come. We also want to create as many professional footballers as we can and be known as a successful academy.

“How do you plan to achieve these goals?”

“I have put together a 4 year plan to give Wisbech the best chances of success. The first year will be to create an academy for the U8-U16 boys and girls. The second year will be the introduction of our U18 fulltime program where players will train and study like professional footballers, this will include a boys and girls team. The third year will see a year 1 and year 2 team across boys and girls for the U18s. The final year will see the U23 program should it go to plan.

“It sounds like a big operation, how will you look to achieve this?”

“It will be a massive operation and we will need paid staff to help with this. By the 2nd or 3rd year, we could be creating over 50 jobs in football. This is positive for the area in both football terms but also economically as jobs in sport can be few and far between. I am very passionate about making Wisbech Town the heart and soul of the community.

“Finally you mentioned a partnership with your business? Could you elaborate?”

“Yes, I am very excited to be partnering with Wisbech Town. Wisbech will be a location that De Silva Coaching will run 1-1 sessions and holiday clubs at. Academy players will also receive a discount on De Silva Coaching’s provisions as part of the partnership.

“Any final thoughts on being announced as Academy Director?”

“Just a big thank you to the chairman. He showed great belief in the project and has been a delight to work with so far. I am so excited at watching the academy grow and look forward to the official start in the summer!”

If you would like to be a part of the academy as a player, coach or volunteer please email Liam - desilvacoaching@outlook.com