The Arsenal captain believes existing rehabilitation programmes do not cater for the needs of sportsmen.

The Football Association welcomed the move, saying it would be interested in backing anything that would help players who had a problem.

Adams, 33, won his own battle with alcoholism and has just celebrated four years without a drink.

Adams said he wants to create a safe haven where big-name stars can get specialist help with their problems away from the limelight.

"I want to provide a safe place, a place of hope and trust," he told The Observer newspaper.

He said he thought a lot of players were reluctant to face up to their addictions because of the stigma attached to it and because they think it will damage their careers.

Unnamed backer

"I think managers and clubs might also be more willing to let their players go to a centre like this," he said.

Adams aims to open a 12-bed centre within the next 18 months.

He will invest his own money in the project and has also received a promise of financial backing from an unnamed wealthy sympathiser.

The clinic would be loosely based on Crossroads, the rehabilitation centre set up in Antigua by rock star Eric Clapton.