Some statistics show that...
.…only 180 of the 1.5 million boys who play underage football in England at any one time, end up in the Premier League. The percentage success rate is 0.012 or one in every 8,333.
….It has been estimated that just seven per cent of teenagers who join top-flight English clubs get a second contract at that club.
Michael Calvin, author of “No Hunger in Paradise”
…Of the big five European leagues, the English Premier League has the lowest representation of club-trained players…. they account for 6.1 percent of Premier League minutes played. That compares to 21.6 percent in the Spanish Liga and 20.6 percent in French Ligue 1.
The demographic stock exchange: a new tool at the service of football - CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report No24, April 2017.
....Less than one per cent of players who are registered, in any age bracket, at football clubs go on to make their debut at professional level.
….And 75% of those who do sign as professionals are no longer in the game by the time they are 21.
Becoming a professional footballer has never been more difficult for kids, here’s why - Robbie Savage, Daily Mirror, October 2018
....a recent investigation by FourFourTwo magazine found that two in five players encounter financial problems during their careers or in retirement.
….33 per cent of ex-professionals in the UK go through divorce within a year of retiring.
Bankruptcy in football: Why are two in five players troubled by financial problems? – inews.co.uk, August, 2018
Premier League reveal 97% of the former elite academy players aged 21 to 26 years old,who come through top academies, never play a minute of top-flight football. The analysis shows that 70% are not even handed a professional contract at a Premier League or English Football League club.
@ipaper, June 2022
Making it Happen
GSF’s talent ID track record is second to none – in the 2020 calendar year, all 9 of our second-year scholars, who were signed by us even before their scholarship offers, were offered their first professional contracts – a 100% record.
In 2018, we spotted a 20 year-old goalkeeper playing Welsh League Division One football, who eventually signed a professional contract at Premier League club, Swansea City, subsequently signing an extended contract. The player was included on the bench for the Championship play off Semi Final in July 2020.
In August 2021, we spotted a 16 year-old FAW Academy attacking player from a club in West Wales, who we subsequently took to Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers on a 3-year professional contract.
In January 2022, we spotted another Welsh League Cymru South right wing-back, who we took to EFL Championship, Swansea City, on an 18-month professional contract, whose professional contract was subsequently extended a further year to June 2024.
In October 2022, we spotted a 16 year-old left centre-back playing Southern League Premier football and College football, who subsequently trialled at Premier League Aston Villa, in November 2022. He then went into EFL Championship club, Swansea City, in January 2023 on a week’s trial, and was offered a 2.5 year contract, scholarship and pro deal.
If you are targeted as a potential client of GSF, you are obviously a highly talented player and have a great chance of becoming a professional footballer!
Alan Curtis MBE is an ambassador of GSF.
