Planning for Life After Football ...
Some players may find themselves looking for a new career this summer, while others are assured of plenty more time in the game. But regardless of your contract situation, PFA’s Head of Education Pat Lally has urged all members to start planning for life after football.
“Members should all be preparing now for the end of their careers,” says Pat. “If they look back on their time in football so far they’ll realise just how quickly it has gone and the rest of their career will go just as quickly.
“Players need to ensure they have every base covered and it does take the pressure off when you’re playing on a Saturday to know you’ve got qualifications under your belt. You know you’ve got the qualifications to hopefully get a decent job and a decent career once your playing days are over.”
Members can contact the Education team to discuss their future options and what qualifications will be needed to follow their desired career path. The PFA will provide half of the funding needed to gain qualifications, up to a maximum of £1500 a year, and Pat says: “It’s an exceptional deal which they need to utilise.”
He warns that delaying making plans for the future could limit the options available, saying: “Quite a number of lads between June and July will be expecting another club to snap them up. It could be as late as August or September before they contact us to say ‘l’m not going to find anything, I need to do something’.
“For some courses that could be too late, so the sooner they contact us with a view to signing up to courses, the better the advice we can give them to try and secure their opportunities.”
The summer is also the perfect time to get some work experience which could boost your future job prospects.
“Obviously the more you’ve got to put on your CV, the more opportunities prospective employers will give you,” adds Pat. “A lot of the players should be getting work experience now.
“Many chairmen and directors of football clubs have their own companies and players should attempt to gain some work experience with these people, whether that’s in their accounts department, on the workshop floor or whatever. They can add that to their CV and it looks good for prospective employers to see that they have attempted to learn other skills. “You’ve got to make yourself as employable as possible and make potential employers initially want to call you for an interview and then it’s a matter of selling yourself and hopefully you’ll be successful.”
To discuss your options, contact the PFA Education department on 0161 236 0637.
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