A leading football agent has told i that the lack of aftercare for young footballers when they are let go by clubs after years of commitment remains a “taboo” subject and wants the game’s stakeholders to come together to tackle the issue.
Luca Hodges-Ramon, a registered intermediary who works for Coda Independent Sports, claims that “everyone is looking at each other to find a solution” and has called for a collective response to what is a major issue.
In an interview with i last week, former Fulham academy player Max Noble spoke of racism, bullying and threatening behaviour during his time at the club which, when he was discarded aged 18, led to suicidal thoughts and suffering severe depression and anxiety that he still manages to this day. Noble’s case, however, is not isolated and he knows of over 150 others former academy players who have been through similar.
Ninety-eight per cent of players who become full-time scholars, aged 16, will be released or have dropped out of football entirely by the age of 21. Many in the game do not believe enough is being done to support players when they are let go, nor to set them up for life if they do not become a professional footballer, as will be the case for so many.
“It’s still a bit of a dilemma for football how best to support young players who ultimately – and the stats show the majority – won’t make a professional career out of football or even sign a professional deal that pays them more than, say, £100 per week,” Hodges-Ramon told i.
“Because of the numbers that go through the system, football is still trying to work out how best to provide support for these young players who ultimately don’t make a living out of football. It should be every stakeholder’s responsibility.”
Footballers can be associated with professional clubs from as young as five, likely first at local development centres, and in some cases are committed to a club for more than a decade.
There remains no clarity as to who should be responsible for footballers when they are released, many of whom have had their education disrupted and can lack the life skills and work experience of their peers. Many are also finding it impacts their mental health, but are provided no support.
“It’s still, unfortunately, a bit of a taboo subject,” Hodges-Ramon, 29, says, “mental well-being in the game and how it affects these young players, especially the commitment they have to provide to clubs from a very young age.
“Football is a bubble. That’s all they’ve potentially known and are told to know. They are told to dedicate their whole life to being a professional footballer. We all have to look what’s going on at the moment and say we could be doing more as a game to support them.
“There is not one easy solution that fits all. It can’t just fall on clubs, it has to fall on the FA and the PFA as well, because the money is in the game.”
Ramon-Hodges also represents female players and points to the culture of women’s football, where younger players are more conscious that they have less earning potential than equivalent male players and are more likely to study alongside playing football.
“Most of the young players we look after are doing university degrees alongside football, or potentially exploring other avenues. It’s almost a healthier balance,” he says.
The care provided for academy players is a vast, complex issue, Hodges-Ramon explains, from understanding the mental health and wellbeing impact of teenagers committing so much of their childhood and teenage years to football only to be let go, to the “exit packages” that some clubs provide players to help them find new clubs.
In some cases clubs will, for example, create five-minute video highlights reels featuring clips of players, but Hodges-Ramon says that a new club is unlikely to recruit a player based on that. He says they could provide more full-match footage, even if it means setting club rivalries aside.
He adds: “It’s the elephant in the room, whose duty is it to provide aftercare? Almost everyone looking at each other to find a solution but it’s definitely a collective responsibility. There has to be a level of aftercare that we all look at and say we’re proud to provide.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3aszTMn
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