PCA PRESS RELEASE

Professional Players' Federation launches month-long initiative focused on career transition in professional sport.

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The PCA is a part of the Professional Players Federation’s inaugural Career Transition Month, a month-long initiative beginning this week with a focus on career transition in professional sport, supported by the Tom Maynard Trust. 

Former and current sportspeople across cricket, rugby, football and horseracing will feature in a series of case studies and webinars aimed exclusively at sportspeople, highlighting the broad range of second careers they can go on to enjoy.

Each week will focus on a different career sector, highlighted as an area of particular interest for professional sportspeople looking at developing their career beyond sport:

  • w/c May 3rd – Business Start Ups (webinar hosted by the PFA on May 6th)
  • w/c May 10th – Finance (webinar hosted by the RPA on May 13th)
  • w/c May 17th – Trades (webinar hosted by PFA Scotland on May 20th)
  • w/c May 24th – Property (webinar hosted by the PCA on May 27th)

Brendon Batson OBE, Chairman of the PPF, said: “We are delighted to team up with our player association members to highlight all the fantastic work that is being done to support and train players for their second careers.  We hope that our inaugural PPF Career Transition Month will be an opportunity for players to gain inspiration from what others have achieved and use the resources and events on offer as a chance to gain knowledge and prepare for the future.”

Lisa Delany, Chair of the PPF Education Committee, said: “Professional sportspeople are exceptionally driven and focused which makes them very well suited to forging a second career in a new area.  Unfortunately, you never know when your playing career will end so it’s vital that players start thinking about and preparing for their future as soon as possible.

“We always remind players that research has proved that preparing for the future has a positive impact on their playing careers as they do not have the worry and stress about what they will do next hanging over them.”

The PPF is the umbrella body for the UK’s player associations and represents twelve associations covering more than 17,000 professional and elite athletes.

The Federation exists to bring together different player associations to discuss areas of common interest and share best practice across the different sports.  As well as career transition other areas of work include mental health, problem gambling, online harms and sports betting integrity – areas that affect every professional sportsperson.

Further details can be found on the PPF’s Twitter feed as well as the social media and communications channels of the player associations taking part (PCA, PFA, PFA Scotland, PJA, RPA and WRPA).

The PPF’s Career Transition Month is sponsored by the Tom Maynard Trust, a charity which provides support for education, development and awareness programmes across professional sports.

Players wishing to attend the webinars should contact their regional Personal Development Managers (PDMs) or get in touch with communications@thepca.co.uk for more information.

The PPF is the largest national federation of player associations in the world and was established in 1991. It represents 12 different associations covering more than 17,000 professional athletes in the UK.

The Tom Maynard Trust was set up to help the development of aspiring disadvantaged sportspeople who require support with different aspects of their career development, including bursaries, help with training and education, financial support for overseas placements and assistance with kit and equipment.