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“FOOTBALL IS A GAME OF MISTAKES.
Whoever Makes the fewest mistakes
wins”.

NAVAGATING
WHAT LIES
AHEAD...
Academy players are tasked with adjusting not only to the speed and
physicality of the professional game but also to life off the pitch.
Newcomers to the Premier League will face challenges in their personal lives
that range from managing finances, media communication and personal
conduct in the public eye. With some academy players entering the league at
19, handling the spotlight and newfound fortune can be a lot to tackle.
That’s where the Premier Sports Academy Transition Programme steps in.
The programme is a league-wide mandatory initiative for academy players
entering the Premier League that helps provide young players with
information and resources that enable them to proactively make quality
decisions and successfully adapt to the lifestyle and challenges of the Premier
League.
!

THE GOAL
Ensure all Premier League academy players
understand the challenges and pressures they are
about to encounter and how to deal with them. That
they’re fully aware of all the support mechanisms and
programmes in place available to them whenever they
need.
!

HOW IT
WORKS
The programme is an off-season one-day event which will feature
interactive workshops and counsel sessions on challenges they will face in
the Premier League, plus guest appearances from current and former
Premier League players.
There is special focus on character, ethics, the importance of positive
images as well as personal and social responsibility.
The sessions will run from 09.00-18.00 and will be conducted by the
Premier Sports Network, the Premier League, PFA, current and former
players and industry experts in each of the fields covered.
!

MENTAL
HEALTH
& WELLBEING
Every year, one-in-four people experiences a mental health problem.
Don’t think that the glamour and riches experienced by those who play
professional sport means they’re any different: on the contrary, more
and more high-profile athletes are speaking out about their own battles
with mental health, the stigma attached to admitting their struggles and
the resulting lack of support they have received.
We explore how athlete support staff and organisations currently
respond to, manage and prevent mental illness, and to identify
successful programmes and approaches that can be shared between
sports.
!
Partners:

OF PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS
FILE BANKRUPTCY WITHIN FIVE
YEARS OF RETIREMENT.

FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT
Partners:
Professional sportspeople are more financially savvy than they’ve ever
been. Today, top athletes - even in their teens - are putting money aside
into a nest egg, or into investments they feel passionate about that they
can then fall back on a decade later when injuries or age ends the career
they are primarily known for. So too are they thinking harder about how
they can financially protect themselves and their families, both during
and after their career.
We discuss how players view their financial matters, and what support
needs to be offered to professional sportspeople during their career –
financial, educational and vocational – so that they’re protected during
their sporting career and beyond.
!

conduct &
Community
relations
Partners:
In any industry, an out-of-work misdemeanour can seriously damage the
reputation of employee and employer, but when it happens with
sportspeople, the media spot- light heightens the impact for both player
and club.
Not only, therefore, does the support network for a professional
sportsperson work hard to minimise the negative impact of bad
behaviour off the pitch, so too does it work hard to make sure it doesn’t
happen in the first place.
In this session we cover what approaches work to ensure sportspeople
are the role models off the pitch just as much as they are on it.
!

Alcohol &
Gambling
abuse
Partners:
Professional sportspeople are more financially savvy than they’ve ever
been. Today, top athletes - even in their teens - are putting money aside
into a nest egg, or into investments they feel passionate about that they
can then fall back on a decade later when injuries or age ends the career
they are primarily known for. So too are they thinking harder about how
they can financially protect themselves and their families, both during
and after their career.
We discuss how players view their financial matters, and what support
needs to be offered to professional sportspeople during their career –
financial, educational and vocational – so that they’re protected during
their sporting career and beyond.
!

elationships
Partners:
Professional sportspeople are more financially savvy than they’ve ever
been. Today, top athletes - even in their teens - are putting money aside
into a nest egg, or into investments they feel passionate about that they
can then fall back on a decade later when injuries or age ends the career
they are primarily known for. So too are they thinking harder about how
they can financially protect themselves and their families, both during
and after their career.
We discuss how players view their financial matters, and what support
needs to be offered to professional sportspeople during their career –
financial, educational and vocational – so that they’re protected during
their sporting career and beyond.
!

Safety &
security
Partners:
Professional sportspeople are more financially savvy than they’ve ever
been. Today, top athletes - even in their teens - are putting money aside
into a nest egg, or into investments they feel passionate about that they
can then fall back on a decade later when injuries or age ends the career
they are primarily known for. So too are they thinking harder about how
they can financially protect themselves and their families, both during
and after their career.
We discuss how players view their financial matters, and what support
needs to be offered to professional sportspeople during their career –
financial, educational and vocational – so that they’re protected during
their sporting career and beyond.
!

Schedule
of the day
AM
PREMIER LEAGUE/PFA COMMUNICATIONS
VIEW FROM A FORMER PROFESSIONAL
PROFESSIONAL LIFE SKILLS:
• FINANCE
• RETIREMENT
• INSURANCE
• TAX
• PROFESSIONALISM
LEGAL EDUCATION:
• FELONY SITUATIONS
• GAMBLING
• SEXUAL HARRASMENT
• SECURITY
PM
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & EDUCATION:
• IMAGE & ETHICS
• DRIVING SAFETY
• TRAVELLING ABROAD
• DRUGS & ALCOHOL
• FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS
• RACISM & HOMOPHOBIA
• ANXIETY & DEPRESSION
• ANGER MANAGEMENT
• RELOCATION & CULTURAL ADAPTION
MEDIA & COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• MEDIA TRAINING
• SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
• CHARITABLE ENDEAVORS

Who we
are
The Premier Sports Network is a series of invite-only player care events for
support staff from clubs and federations. Each event gives attendees the
chance to network and discuss challenges in the sector. !
At the Premier Sports Network: Player Care events, professionals from the UK
player support network including academy directors, player liaison officers,
lawyers, financial advisors, agents and education officers will discuss and
debate the challenges that face players, and their advisors, in a career journey
starting at youth-level and spanning to retirement.
!
“The Academy Transition Programme has been created following feedback from those who
have attended our Player Care seminars who outlined the real need to educate and
support the Premier League players of the future. With increasing demands to protect their
most valuable investments - players - we believe the Academy Transition Programme will
become a must-attend annual event for every Premier League club’s upcoming talent.”
- David Bull, Co-Founder
!

contact
David Bull
Co-Founder
Premier Sports Network
david@premiersports.agency
+44 (0) 208 419 1100
+44 (0) 778 2366 16
www.premiersportsnetwork.com
!