As a nation, we all know that the cast-iron Corkonian would never turn his players out onto any turf and kit that isn’t 100% perfect.

So when the midden-faced one issues a statement about training facilities and accommodation — even if they are in sun-soaked Spain — we will stop everything and listen.

Keane cooes: “There are a lot of big clubs taking part in The Village. It’s great that Sunderland are up there among them — the Costa del Sol offers a fantastic option for warm-weather training for the team in the future.”

The “Village” at Valle Romano Golf and Resort on the Costa del Sol is the subject of Keane’s praise, even though the developers have been forced to admit he’s never actually been there.

Nonetheless, Keane, our national expert on training facilities, is one of a number of leading football personalities to hail the greatness of this new 700-plus apartment and property development in the sun at Estepona on the Costa del Sol.

Peter Walker, Keane’s chief executive at the Irish-owned Sunderland club, says: “Sunderland wouldn’t be involved in this development if we didn’t believe it was of the highest quality. Not only does it present our fans with a great opportunity to find a place in the sun, but it offers them the chance to back the club and show their support.”

In essence, Walker is saying fans should support their club by buying an apartment at the scheme. In fact, Valle Romano is being endorsed by 30 British football clubs and numerous soccer personalities as a hot-weather training camp for their players and is the biggest plugging exercise yet given to a property development by sports stars.

Keane is just the latest of Irish sports stars who have been flocking to endorse property schemes at home and abroad. Across all sports, Ireland’s heroes of the field are eager to sell us bricks and mortar.

Niall Quinn, the former Ireland player and Keane’s chairman at Sunderland, a wily property promoter and investor, was eager to become involved with Valle Romano, according to Wayne Elliott of the scheme, but couldn’t because of contractual involvement in other promotions — not least his stake in the €30m plan to make Killashee House in Naas a similar development for footballers.

Quinn has been promoting properties since he and his wife turned up to launch the luxury Adelaide Square scheme in Dublin 8.

Late last year Liam Brady, the elegant former Republic of Ireland midfielder, was over here from London trying to sell apartments at Highbury to football-conscious property buyers. Meantime, Kerry GAA supremo Paidi O Se was over in London promoting the sale of Irish property to Londoners on behalf of Douglas Newman Good.

Ray Houghton, the 1994 hero of the Giants stadium, has bought an apartment at a football Village on the Andalucian coast — Puebla Real Golf. He concluded the deal in 2005.

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