Stiliyan Petrov is a former professional footballer, having played for Celtic and captained Aston Villa. Indeed, he is Bulgaria’s most-capped player of all time. He is the co-founder of Player 4 Player, a collective launched in October 2020 by a group of elite ex-players. The aim of Player 4 Player is to provide current and former professional footballers with unrivalled expertise and guidance on how to promote and protect their careers both on and off the pitch.
1. Please can you tell us more about Player 4 Player? Player 4 Player is so overdue. It is something that we feel is needed and will help the industry. It is a collective which is built by trust and comprised of former football players. Football is in our blood and this is what we have lived for – to play football and do the right thing. If we go back in time to when we were younger, we were all concentrated on becoming footballers, this was our goal. We had a purpose and would follow that purpose with everything we had in our power in order to become a top athlete. However, what we didn’t realise was that this journey stops at some point. Most of us don’t realise how difficult it becomes to find a different purpose and identity. To become something else after twenty years of professional football is very difficult! So, most of us lived and breathed through that transition and we decided to start something very interesting, powerful and long overdue. We feel that players, just like we did, always wait for somebody else to guide and help them. They wait for managers, coaches and club directors to give guidance and show them how to develop as players. However, what about after their career – their ‘second career’? Is there somebody else [to guide players]? Nobody prepares for what is coming: the challenges, the highs, the lows. Hence, Player 4 Player is here to help, guide, mentor and create the right opportunities for current players, former players and players going through a transition. Being part of Player 4 Player makes us proud because it is built by players and organised for the players. Before we started this journey, we all had to find out what the real issues are at every stage for all players. We came across a lot of problems and gaps. We know that the PFA and FIFPRO are doing their best to help this transition be smoother. However, we felt there’s still a lot of gaps and we are here to fill those gaps and make the transition easier for everybody. 2. What were some of the challenges that occurred when establishing the organisation? The challenges were organising and understanding which services would benefit the players and make the industry stronger. By 'benefitting the players', I mean which services will guide the players and give them the right knowledge, opportunities and education to succeed in life after football. It is very difficult to find out what you want to do in life after football. Most people would think it’s easy but everyone does coaching badges and media work. Also, footballers have to be clever with their money and make sensible and correct decisions throughout their career. A huge proportion of retired footballers end up bankrupt or facing mental health issues. There’s also gambling and loss of identity and purpose. Then, there’s one person facing all of these issues and dealing with them on their own, after having had a career being guided and told what to do. For example, players turn up to training with the cones set out and the session designed, they simply have to perform and try to become a top athlete. Under this format, we, as players, end up trusting everybody but ourselves. The challenge, therefore, is to understand and see how we can give the players at every stage an understanding and a voice to question and better themselves. 3. What are some of the misconceptions surrounding life as a professional footballer? There’s so many misconceptions that can be discussed all day long. However, the important thing to think about is what can we do to remove these misconceptions and strive for a stronger industry, moving forward together as one and making sure many players that finish their career go out and realise there’s more than one pathway. It’s not just a case of going into coaching or media, there’s many other opportunities out there. 4. What changes would you like to see in football? I’d like to see more trust, honesty and unity. We are seeing less of this, the football world is divided and confused. We need order to go forward as one because the sport is worldwide and brings people together. At the moment, there are so many issues and unanswered questions surrounding football. As footballers, a big part of the industry, we feel confused about where we are going and the direction we are going in. It’s interesting to see issues that have been around for many years coming to light as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However, these issues should have been dealt with a long time ago. As players, we didn’t feel like we had enough power or enough of a voice, but now I can see so many players, such as Rashford and Sterling, coming out and being counted and driving the industry going forward. This is what we would like to do - make players aware of who they are, who they can be and how they can achieve this [a powerful voice]. 5. What is the best piece of career advice that you have been given? The best piece of advice I have been given was from my father. He always told me to never forget where I came from and what I have been through, and to always respect people and not judge them straight away because people go through difficult times and life changes. This has all been really valuable to me and I have tried to follow it throughout my career. I have always tried to reflect on my career and think about the highs and lows and how I have achieved what I have so far. When you follow such simple messages, I think it makes your life easier and makes you even stronger. 6. What are the rewards and challenges of working in the sports sector? The biggest rewards for us are to see players at every stage of their careers become stronger, understand the industry inside out, as well as their opportunities, and to realise the potential that they have. We also want players to develop and progress in different areas, not just football. We’d like to see athletes become part of different industries. If you look at the positives and skills of an athlete, there’s leadership, teamwork, communication, resilience, and so on. If we manage to understand how powerful we are [as footballers] and the ability we have to get better, we will be valuable in not just the football industry but in other industries out there as well. I think loyalty, respect and appreciation has disappeared from football. They used to be important values and an important part of someone’s identity, but I feel like we are missing and getting further away from these values. The challenge will be to bring them back and make sure society understands them. If we manage to do that, it would be a great success. 7. Where do you see yourself and Player 4 Player in ten years’ time? In ten years’ time, I see me, you and Gaz [Gareth Farrelly - stay tuned for his interview coming out soon!] talking about what we have achieved! This is a good pathway to see how we are doing and would mean that we are all still here and doing a great job. We can leave it to the people to guess how successful we will be!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
February 2024
|