Why it’s a mistake for academies to only have 'the careers chat' in the later years.
In previous articles, I've challenged the notion of giving 'Plan B' career chats to academy footballers. In this article, I highlight that there is a need to be talking to players from the youngest ages in academies/clubs about some key realities around football & non-football careers.
FIFPRO recently released a significant report into the way professional footballers are viewing life after professional football. (https://www.fifpro.org/en/education/mind-the-gap-67-percent-of-footballers-unsure-of-second-career-path-fifpro-survey-finds)
‘“Some 67 percent of professional footballers are not sure what they will do when they stop playing, according to a FIFPRO survey.
While 49 percent said they have “an idea” or “a few interests” that they might pursue, 18 percent said they did not know, the survey found. Only 33 percent said they were “confident” about their career path when they stop playing.”
The statistics are not that staggering or shocking for those who have lived within the industry for any length of time, but they are a sad reality of what the football industry incubates. Within the context of where I work here in South Africa, I’m pretty sure that figures would be quite a bit higher. But I’m not wanting to dwell within this article on these figures (which are a relatively low sample size across a vast number of countries and cultures), but I’d rather dig into the question of ‘so what’s the solution?’
A previous FIFPRO article on 30 October 2019 (https://www.fifpro.org/en/education/mind-the-gap) highlights that there may be an issue in how this current status quo is rectified, especially how the education of aspiring/current pro’s is positioned.
“Whether you’re 16 or 36, it’s never too early to think about the day you call time on your career as a professional footballer.”
The opening line in this article points to a significant issue about how this whole conversation is positioned. A 16-year old is someone who is transitioning into adulthood. Their education is already well established and for some almost at its end. The hopes and dreams for many have been pretty clear for several years now.
Isn’t it almost too late to only start having this conversation at 16? Now maybe there was never intended to be a literal application of 16 or 36 within the article, but I think that there does need to be an acknowledgment that if a 16-year-old is only comprehending for the first time that they might not end up as a pro, or that they will need another career outside of playing pro (regardless of whether they make it or not) then there is needing to be some serious rewiring in that young person's life.
But maybe there shouldn’t need to be such a significant rewiring at 16….
I would rather suggest that in an age-appropriate way, that right from the youngest ages in academies around the world, a very simple and clear 4 pronged message:
Dream big dreams in football - work hard for them and give it your best!
Statistically ‘X’* percentage of players will go on to have sustained pro football careers - a really small percentage. (*ideally using real available contextual stats)
A pro career will in most cases at best take you into your mid-thirties - leaving over 30 years of employable post-football years (and around 45 years for those not going into pro football)
Therefore, it's essential that when you stop playing or pursuing professional football, you have another dream/career to transition into.
Now, this is a message that I believe 9 and 10-year-olds can grasp. It’s an honest message, but it does not give the infuriatingly misguided “you need an education in case you don’t make it” or “you need a plan b”. No, it’s a message that if given with some regularity wires the young brain to understand from the off that they need to be developing more than one dream in life.