As part of the PFA’s commitment to improving members future employability and career prospects, we are excited to announce the start of a new project for 2022, the PFA Business School.
The business school is a progression of the players’ union’s current Education services, which have helped thousands of former players obtain academic and vocational qualifications and find fulfilling post-football careers.
As the flagship initiative of a wider strategy focused on player transition, the school will offer courses that re-skill footballers to improve their employability, secure financial sustainability and ensure they have a purpose after the end of their athletic career. Members will be able to choose part-time, flexible and full-length courses across industries such as law, media, healthcare and nutrition, and participate in exclusive training programmes and professional boot camps.
Crucially, the business school will also expand the PFA's current career support with increased provisions for active job searching, advice on corporate internship alliances, who can provide valuable insights on entrepreneurship.
In September, PFA CEO, Maheta Molango, told Mark Chapman and Matt Slater from The Athletic’s Business of Sport Podcast, that the football industry can sometimes ‘use’ players, the majority of whom will need to find new careers when they leave the game. He said, “99% of players need to work because of money, and 1% need to work because of purpose. The fall is more brutal the higher you are. You need to reconstruct a new identity, and in football, when you’re 35, you’re old, but in real life, you’re just a kid. It’s not an easy transition.”
Earlier this year, A fan-led review of football governance by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport outlined the significant impact transition out of the game had on players’ wellbeing. The review recommended football stakeholders work together to improve these experiences for players of all ages 'as a matter of high priority’. The PFA Business School will be the first new initiative to help tackle the game's response to this issue and a foundation of a longer-term approach to improving how players transition out of the game.
PFA CEO, Maheta Molango, added, “Over the last six months, the feedback I’ve received from PFA members and our Players’ Board is that education and career transition are top priorities for players at all levels of the game. The PFA Business School will be an extension of the excellent work of our Education department and a bold new step that reinforces the key role the PFA plays in helping players transition into a new career.”
