Bayamon, Jan 16: Spain's David Villa has said that when he retires from professional football he would like to devote himself to run academies, as he's been doing for a year here.

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"We're not ruling out opening more academies in other places. That is what I want to devote myself to after I retire," the 35-year-old New York City FC forward said on Sunday, January 15, while overseeing the second pre-season course for kids at his DV7 football academy at the Bayamon football complex here, reports Efe.

Honing their skills at the academy - which is headed by trainers Delfin Ferreres and Josep Becerra - are kids between the ages of three and 17, and the aim is to continue pushing the sport on the island.

The children participating in the two-day workshop had the chance to get to know the game of a top international player up close and personal, including getting ball-handling tips and sports advice from him.

"I'm very happy with the results here day to day. The work's bearing fruit, definitely," Villa said, adding that every two weeks Ferreres and Becerra give him a report about what's going on at the academy.

Villa said that it's good for kids to start practicing soccer at age three, and he noted that he himself had begun playing at age six.

He said he didn't know when he'd be hanging up his boots, but his plan is to play for at least another year under his contract with New York City FC.

IANS