Professional Soccer Player

If you have exceptional footballing talent, and the discipline to work hard to improve your performance level, being a footballer could be ideal for you. As a footballer you would play as part of a team in a professional or semi-professional league. Depending on the level you play at, you may have other responsibilities like giving media interviews, charity work and coaching. You'll need to be a very competitive person but also work well in a team. You'll have to keep yourself very fit. Most professional footballers start learning football skills from around nine or ten years old. They tend to be spotted by club talent scouts playing for youth or school teams and offered a place at a club's Football Academy or Centre of Excellence.

Individual earnings vary widely depending on the reputation of the player, and on the club and the LEAGUE. Earnings can also be increased by performance-related bonuses, appearance fees, endorsements and sponsorship.

Your day-to-day activities would vary depending on the level of your team, but at all levels 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 analyze your strengths and weaknesses, work with specialists such as physiotherapists, sports psychologists, coaches and your team manager

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 travel with your club or national team to away matches all over the world or abroad, which would involve spending time away from home. You would train on most days during the week.