West Ham United are launching a brand new football academy in Kent.

Players aged 16-18 will train and study at the Star Meadow Sports Club in Gillingham with the ultimate aim of playing Premier League football for the Hammers.

The scheme is being run by Iconic Sports Coaching in partnership with Soccer Coaching Limited (SCL), who will deliver the education programme for a BTEC Diploma in Sport.

Former Tonbridge and Cray boss Tommy Warrilow is the man fronting the programme, having been appointed football academy manager.

Trials take place on June 25 and July 30 (6-8pm) at Star Meadow - the home of Hollands & Blair FC - with Warrilow keen to run two squads in 2015/16.

He said: "It’s a Premier League club and it’s the first time they’ve come over this side of the water.

"It’s a big ask to become a Premier League player but it can happen. That’s your target but there’s an opportunity here to be helped to find – at whatever level you’ll be at – a football club so you can go and play and build on that to try to press on.

"That’s my message; it’s not just about a one-off ‘you’re not good enough, you’re never going to do this’, it’s a case of finding them something and most importantly it’s making sure they don’t neglect the educational side of it.

"It’s a double-edged sword. They’re on a win-win where they’ll come away with something football-wise and an education."

Players who want to attend the first trial on June 25 must register at www.wearescl.co.uk.

Warrilow said: "We’re not here to nick anyone’s business or anything like that. It’s just a development programme for lads that hopefully we can push on and get into the pro game or the semi-pro game.

"You’ve got Soccer Elite and Pro Soccer, there are lots of (academies) out there. It’s just another business venture and some kids might not get into them. Some kids might not be happy there and they might want to move on.

"Some kids might want to be associated with the West Ham badge. That carries a lot of clout.

"The nice thing is that we’ll be able to shoot up to West Ham and have games against them, train with them and let the boys get a taste of that as well. I’m excited about it because it’s the first one in Kent.

"We’re not here to say ‘you’re going to be a professional footballer with West Ham’. The opportunity is there for the youngsters but it’s going to be very hard for them, to get their head down and aim for that.

"That’s got to be their goal, as well as the education, and after that, we’ll help them.

"The important thing is for the lads that don’t quite make the grade, that we help them find somewhere in football."