Pro Football Pathway

The official partner of jbfc A true football pathway WITH REAL OPPORTUNITY

Key points of note - What you should know

You need to be age appropriate

You are not signing a professional contract - and you wont' be paid!

The clubs we deal with need to ensure they follow the rules of the governing bodies of football and education. These prohibit anyone under the age of 16 signing any sort of professional contract - development or otherwise - unless a parent moves with them for reasons OTHER than football.

However, a 16yr old CAN leave school in Year 10 and CAN move to a development contract under guardianship of a club. Parents can also relocate, but will do so at their own expense. Clubs typically like players to be mature and 'their own person' - so having Mum and Dad with them all the time may be frowned upon.

The age range is 16-20. Over 20's are more than welcome, but be aware that the chances may be more limited for progression.

You are not signing a professional contract - and you wont' be paid!

Exactly what the heading says. You would be part of a development program - BUT, you are in at the ground level and you will have eyes on you 24/7, meaning you will have more of a chance to move through the ranks of the pro club.

If you aspire to play abroad, you need to establish yourself and have clubs get to know you. This takes anything from 3 months to 2 years - with typical timescales around 6-12 months. So you need to be willing to be on a non-paid development program for that period that you won't be paid for.

Tours that promise you playing against teams with scouts watching may actually do that - but the scout will have to do the same sort of thing and establish you at this level BEFORE anything else happens. That's what they don't tell you !

You will train daily - this isn't for everyone

You are not signing a professional contract - and you wont' be paid!

You will train daily - this isn't for everyone

Remember, there are 2 opportunities here. The first is the full time football pathway. This means your day will start at 8am and finish at 4 or later if there is a game - 5 days a week. You will train, analyse videos, take part in media training, do strength and conditioning, travel to and from games - every day. No off days. It's a full time 'job' / program where your payment is experience.

The 2nd opportunity allows you full time education with part time training - 5 days a week. So you'll go to school as normal, but you'll finish and then go straight to training - then finish that and go do your studies - which are of course related to the football. You're not necessarily going to do Maths or English (unless you want to) - it's all football related education. You may end up with a professional football contract AND a Masters or Diploma as well !!

In otherwords - this will be hard work!

FIFA Rules and Regulations

This does have some financial expense

You will train daily - this isn't for everyone

Everyone must be aware of FIFA Rules and Regulations - in particular Article 19. The stated aim of Fifa article 19 is the protection of minors (i.e those under 18 years of age.(Again, some 'trials' won't mention this.)

Minors are deemed to be players under the age of 18, or between 16 and 18 for transfers within the European Union or European Economic Area.

There are three commonly cited exceptions where clubs CAN sign minors onto a professional contract.

1) Where a player’s parents have moved to a new country for reasons unconnected to football.

2) Where the player lives no further than 50km from a national border and wishes to be registered in the neighbouring association.

3) If a transfer takes place between two European (EU or EEA) countries and the player is aged between 16 and 18, providing new club fulfils minimum requirements of football training, academic education and acceptable living accommodation and welfare.

As you know, Australia is NOT in Europe, hence points 1 and 2 are valid for you. More details can be found at this link.

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/regulations-on-the-status-and-transfer-of-players-june-2019.pdf?cloudid=ao68trzk4bbaezlipx9u

This is NOT an 'Academy'

This does have some financial expense

Let's be honest. There is a very limited pathway for youth players in Australia. There are wider opportunity overseas.

Players here either aren't spotted or if they are, they are put into a sausage machine of training which at best will land an overseas contract, or may get you identified by an A League academy, but at worst players will be missed.

What we want to do is give players a chance.

We will NOT take everyone. You have to be at a certain level and you will be watched and you will be asked to submit video footage of yourself. You will be interviewed by us and by the club and you will be asked your aspirations. If we feel that they aren't achievable, we will tell you.

Pro Football Pathway will NOT take any money from you for recommending players. We want to give players a chance and if the club we recommend you to likes you and takes you on, then we have done our job in giving youth a chance to progress in the game. We are parents - we know what it's like and we have children to have went overseas to achieve their dreams and are now doing so. We want to give others that same chance.

Our partners WILL have identification clinics and we will ONLY invite a set number of players. There will be no more than 40 players at any clinic. These clinics will be run at a cost as we pay for the coaches to come over from their home country, and we have to hire the fields etc. However, the difference is, you'll actually be given a weeks full training to see if you can a) handle it and b) fit the grade required!!

This does have some financial expense

Yes, there will be some financial output. There has to be - but here is the fine print in large writing.

Clinics that run will be charged for. This will pay for the fields, the coaches who come over and other expenses. There will be a small profit made for Pro Football Pathways to keep things running - but these will be minimal. This isn't a money making scheme !!

Education will cost money overseas UNLESS you have a European or British passport (or can attain one). Having this will reduce costs significantly.

You will pay for the football program. This will vary on the club you are recommended to and the duration you wish to stay for. Durations are from 1 month to 6 months (and can be longer in Europe depending on the season). The clubs typically have 2 intakes - January and June.

Flights / visas etc are all at your own expense.

You'll need pocket money !

That's it. Nothing else. No hidden fees - no trial fees, no money for buses to games, no tours of London or stadiums (unless you want to).