The showcase to sign unemployed footballers

Summer has many faces. One, that of the jubilation of the fans who see new players arriving throughout the weeks of July and August who reinforce their teams and, on the other hand, that of the footballers who have finished their contract and still do not have a new club. They don't know what will become of them. As in all professions, yours has also been affected by the crisis.

“The clubs are trying to balance the accounts. That slows everything down. There has been a European Championship and the movements have not started until it is over. It all starts when there is a signing between a big club and a small club. This year it will be much slower, “he explains. Diego Rivas, secretary general of AFE, to As.

At this point in the summer, of the players who served last season in a First Division team, 22 are unemployed; while the figure grows when you look at Second, as it rises to 47. And if we look at Second B or Third, that figure would multiply. The profile of a player who is now without a team in professional football is very similar both in LaLiga Santander and in SmartBank; the majority are Spanish (73% and 68% respectively) and slightly older than the average for the category. In First, the unemployed are around 30-31 years old and the average of those who have a contract is 27; In Second, those who do not have a team are at 28-29 years old and those who do at 26-27.

One of the ways to gauge whether the number of unemployed footballers is growing or not is in the AFE union. They organize concentrations of players without a team in each transfer market (two in summer and one in January). They are a showcase where you can train at the highest level and clubs come to see them in friendly matches to see their level and decide to sign them. This is how Diego Rivas explains it: “We took them to an idyllic place where many high-level teams do the preseason, such as Oliva. We have been there for a couple of years. We give them all the facilities that a professional team can have: medical services, physiotherapy, coaches, press people and scouting. We try to get them to take shape and be training in morning and afternoon sessions playing matches. It is a showcase for them. If the clubs have any doubts about how a specific footballer is doing, they will see him at the games ”.

Players of all kinds pass through these sessions, who have played in First, Second, Second B, Third or even who come from abroad: “It is a profile of a player who has not found a team and who is going to train to get fit. We meet footballers of all categories. All types. More young people who have had an injury and have had a blank or others who are almost at the end of their career and want a last contract ”. In the last editions, players like Emiliano Armenteros signed up, Argentine who played in the Primera with Sevilla, Xerez, Rayo and Osasuna, or Javier Carpio, one of the fixtures in the eleven of the last promotion of Alavés to LaLiga Santander. Although what most demand to participate in these sessions are others: “Perhaps the strong core are players who come from abroad and most are players who have been between Second and Second B.”

This AFE Sessions ‘barometer’ shows that more and more players are turning to find a new job: “This year we have broken records and many players have signed up. Others have preferred to train on their own or have ultimately declined to sign up. About 200 players have signed up for this first, but then another one will come. “During the summers they have had to carry out up to two sessions. This year, the first (XXV edition) began on July 26 and ended on August 8; while the second will come just after, from 9 to 22. And in both there will be two renowned former players as coaches: Diego Tristán and Oriol Riera. The AFE Sessions are a showcase not only for active footballers, but also for former players who want to try out on the bench. “Diego got in touch with us, he proposed to the Committee, he seemed like a pretty good and powerful profile that wanted to test his coaching career. It shows that it is also a showcase for coaches. Everything is. We intend the labor incorporation. They are players or former players who are a bit out of the market or the wheel due to certain circumstances. It is an opportunity given to them to get into the dynamic, ”adds Rivas.

Players, like everyone else, experience difficult situations during their careers. Unemployment and uncertainty too. And that is why they resort to alternatives such as the one offered by AFE to continue pursuing the dream they had as children. The one to play soccer.