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Footballer

Play football to entertain the fans and gain success for your team. Keep yourself fit and healthy and constantly practice to improve your skills.

Also known as: football player

About skillsGetting in

About the job

Salary

Source: LMI for All

Weekly

£1,290

Average

Monthly

£5,590

Average

Yearly

£67,080

Average

1,400

people are currently employed

Low growth

100 more jobs in 5 years

These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics

A day in the life — footballer

What it's like

You would play football to entertain the fans and gain success for your team. You’d work hard to keep yourself fit and healthy and constantly practice to improve your skills.

You’d need to have exceptional footballing talent and the discipline to work hard to improve your performance level.

You would play as part of a team in a professional or semi-professional league. You'd need to be a very competitive person but also work well in a team.

You would:

  • Play in matches against other teams in your league

  • Attend regular training sessions to improve your skills and general fitness

  • Work on tactics, sometimes watching videos of matches to analyse your strengths and weaknesses

  • Work with specialists such as physiotherapists, sports psychologists, coaches and your team manager

  • Act on advice on diet and lifestyle from nutritionists and doctors

As a top player you might also give media interviews and be paid to promote products in adverts.

At all levels, you might take part in work in the community, such as helping to coach local children and attending charity events.

Hours

You would usually play in matches in the evening or at weekends, often at times scheduled to suit the media, particularly television companies. You would train on most days during the week.

Travel

You would travel with your club or national team to away matches all over the country or abroad, which would involve spending time away from home.

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    Top skills

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    It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.

    Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:

    • evaluating
    • observation
    • building relationships
    • cooperating
    • listening
    • self esteem
    • motivating others
    • taking responsibility
    • self awareness
    • persevering

    Your skills are important

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    Getting in

    Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.

    You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.

    Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.

    Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:

    • PE (Physical education)

    • Skills for Work: Sport and Recreation

    There are no formal qualifications required to enter this role. Most employers value a good general education including English and maths.

    Footballers are usually spotted by scouts when playing for secondary school age teams. They are then invited to train with a team and may be offered a contract once they leave school.

    The Scottish Football Association (SFA) offers an opportunity to gain relevant work-based qualifications through a Modern Apprenticeship with the SFA. This is a two-year programme which leads to a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) in Achieving Excellence in Sports Performance at level 3.

    Involvement in sports clubs or amateur organisations from an early age. 

    Qualifications and experience that show fitness and sporting skills such as Sports Leaders UK Award or Skills for Work Sports & Recreation (SCQF level 4). 

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