Footballers Preparing for Life After the Game

Professional footballers are looking beyond just playing. Many current and former players are getting educated for jobs in football management, coaching, and sporting direction.

This was clear at the 2026 graduation of the PFA Business School at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. There, a group of footballers and former players celebrated finishing their studies while still playing.

According to BBC Sport on Wednesday, some of the graduates included Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Coventry City striker Taiwo Awoniyi. Former Chelsea and Spain captain César Azpilicueta was also there.

Dewsbury-Hall, 28, came from Merseyside to London for the ceremony after earning a postgraduate diploma in global football sport directorship. He said he wants to keep learning while he can still play.

“As a person, I’m always trying to learn and develop away from the pitch,” Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport. “I don’t want to stop playing and then just sit around doing nothing.”

He added that getting this qualification now could help him if a chance comes up after his playing career.

For Awoniyi, education has been important since he was a child in Nigeria. The Coventry striker already has a degree in business management and another diploma. The PFA qualification is his third.

Awoniyi said his father, Solomon, stressed the need for education. He made it clear that football should not replace his studies.

“I always felt education was important,” Awoniyi said. “It was a promise I made to my dad that if I played football, I would keep studying. That’s what I have done, and I am proud of it.”

At 29, Awoniyi's football journey took him from the Imperial Soccer Academy in Nigeria to Liverpool, then to Germany with Union Berlin, before making a name for himself in the Premier League. His focus on education has stayed strong despite the busy life of a professional player.

Awoniyi believes footballers can study because their work hours do not fit the usual nine-to-five job.

“Yes, football is our passion, but we are normal human beings as well, and maybe that’s something the world doesn’t always see,” he said.

Azpilicueta is another player who kept studying while building a successful career. The former Spain international studied before starting his pro career with Osasuna at 17. He went back to school during his nine years at Chelsea, earning an MBA at Harvard University.

His studies even took place on the day of Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City. Azpilicueta said studying helped him take his mind off the pressure before that big match. Chelsea won 1-0, and Azpilicueta lifted the trophy as captain.

“Having my studies also helped me focus and improve myself away from football,” he said.

Now retired after playing for Atlético Madrid and Sevilla, Azpilicueta thinks education is valuable for more than just preparing for retirement.

“It’s not only about preparing for life after football,” he said. “It’s about becoming a better version of yourself in your football career as well.”

The PFA Business School program allows players to study while still doing their jobs. Seminars are planned so they don’t clash with training and matches. Students can also finish their work in their own time.

Dewsbury-Hall mentioned he has received curious looks while studying on his iPad on the way home from away matches.

For former Bournemouth captain Steve Cook, the program was a chance to return to formal education after school. Cook has coaching qualifications and is now nearing the end of his playing career.

The graduates have different goals and reasons for studying, but this qualification can lead to various roles in football. Some might become coaches, executives, or sporting directors, while others may use what they learn to grow during their playing careers.

For players like Awoniyi, Dewsbury-Hall, and Azpilicueta, the message is clear: a career in football does not have to end at the final whistle.