A shared dream of many, and possibly even yours, is to enter the realms of professional football. Boys and girls will grow up idolising their favourite players and wishing to emulate their success. Sadly, for many these dreams will never become a reality.  

This, however, doesn’t have to be the end of your footballing journey. For those looking to work in the footballing world, there are numerous opportunities to be involved with some of the best clubs. The football industry is thriving with the European football market being worth £21.9 billion. This article will explore some of the top jobs available to you. 

Performance Director 

As a football performance director, you will be responsible for paving the way for the future. You will have a variety of contacts ranging from youth academies to foreign teams and be hunting for players to fit your team. You will be required to orchestrate a long-term plan that will take your club higher by creating a vision and strategy for success. Using your knowledge alongside your perception of players, you will combine different elements of performance, as well as create optimum conditions to attain footballing success.  

You will be required to:  

• Monitor training and competition  

• Deliver player support  
• Develop team culture  
• Develop training environment  
• Ensure objectives are met  
• Aid communication between manager and board  

Dan Ashworth was appointed FA performance director and was the key figurehead in creating the ‘England DNA’. Essentially, this was a plan aimed at creating winning England senior teams in both men’s and women’s game. Dan outlines that the key parts of the DNA philosophy are to define; Who we are? How we play? How we coach? How we support and the future England player.  

Unlike some of the other roles on this list, there is no set way to become a performance director, however, the most common way to get into the job is through an existing football pathway. The main requirement for the job is that you have experience in an existing football role, for normally at least 6-8 years. A common route for many is to gain coaching, football analysis, or football talent development degrees and then work with teams to develop knowledge and experience. Once this is gained, you will then be able to apply for technical and performance director roles. 

England DNA

England DNA: https://www.somersetfa.com/coaches/development-and-courses/england-dna