Ex-Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler is pleased by the progress of The Fowler Education and Football Academy.

Fowler opened up the Academy back in September which is designed for both boys and girls aged 16 to 19, who want to secure qualifications in coaching, sports science and personal training.

Since its inception, more than 40 youngsters have already enrolled and during a special visit to Wavertree Sports Park recently, Fowler has expressed his delight at how his project is progressing.

Fowler told the Liverpool Echo: "We're here to see how fit the kids are and what level they are at. Everything is coming together well for September and we've been delighted with the response since we launched it.

"It's not just all about me. My name headlines it but there's a lot of hard work going on from a lot of people and especially our team of excellent coaches. I'm happy to put my name to a really good course which will benefit a lot of people.

"We said from day one we want to give kids a better future. Some of them have been released by academies and we want to give them the means to get back into football. It's also about giving them an education. The football side of things obviously attracts them but the classroom work is actually far more important."