Crystal Palace star Zaha launches football academy with summer camp for kids

Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha has announced the launch of his football academy in England on Monday.

The 'Wilfried Zaha Academy' will start operations in South London this summer with only kids between the ages of 5 to 12 allowed to enrol for the football camp.

Zaha’s gesture is believed to be one of the ways he is giving back to Croydon – a community in South London where he grew up after he left Abidjan with his family at a tender age.

The academy's operations have started on Monday with the summer football camp that will go on for about five weeks until August 27.

The football camp has daily morning and evening sessions with development and one-on-one sessions.

“Today is the day guys! Wilfried Zaha Academy begins today and I’m so excited I decided I’m going to give away two signed shirts,” Zaha wrote on his Instagram.

Zaha has spent the majority of his career in South London, after rising through the youth ranks at Crystal Palace between 2004 and 2010.

He made his professional debut for the Eagles in a 2-1 Championship loss to Cardiff City after replacing Stern John as an 80th-minute substitute on March 27, 2010.

After an unsuccessful two-year stint at Manchester United where he played just 28 minutes of football in two Premier League games, the 28-year-old returned to Selhurst Park in 2015 and he has become an indispensable player in the Eagles attack.

Zaha finished as Crystal Palace's top scorer last season with 11 goals in 30 Premier League matches and he will be looking to continue his attacking dominance under Patrick Vieira who replaced Roy Hodgson at the helm earlier this month.