Scotland’s first recruitment agency dedicated entirely to the football industry is targeting revenues of more than £1m the next two years.
Glasgow-based Football Careers sources off-the-pitch positions at all levels in the game, including academy directors, performance analysts, physiotherapists, senior professional development-phase coaches.
The company’s founders, football agent and recruiter Stewart Macgregor and professional youth coach Piero Carrino work with the League Managers Association and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), helping former and current players transition into non-playing roles, or preparing them for positions in the corporate world.
They also work with the Football Association of Ireland and the Football Association of Wales, assisting their coach education departments with career advice presentations on their UEFA courses.
Football Careers is a rebrand of Carrino’s existing company Sport Careers Agency, pivoting the business towards a football-only focus.
With an existing database of 90,000 people working at all levels of the game globally, the business plan includes a ‘seven figure’ revenue target within 24 months - initially employing six staff - rising to more than £2m by the end of year three.
As well as providing traditional recruitment services, the business is launching an e-commerce site - developed by Coatbridge-based digital agency Hybrid Anchor - that will allow applicants to apply for positions remotely, as well as accessing services including CV and covering letter-writing and advice on improving interview skills.
It will harness the collective value of 4,000 CV candidates, 25,000 jobs board subscribers and 75,000 social media followers, from Carrino’s current business Sport Careers Agency.
“There are other sports recruitment agencies, but ours is the only dedicated football recruitment business in Scotland and one of a few in the UK,” he commented.
“Hybrid Anchor is creating an e-commerce website which will allow our operation to be more automated.
“The current website is a very manual process: people will inquire through the website; we then arrange a call; we then have to send them an email outlining package options and they either agree to it or they don’t; and then we have to take the payment manually,“ continued Carrino.
“Clubs will be able to pay to post job adverts and we have candidates who will apply for positions at all levels in the game.”
While the bulk of Football Careers activities is focused on recruiting non-playing staff, the company also provides services aimed at helping players, coming to the end of their playing days, to plan and make the transition into new careers.
Carrino, who is also an A-licensed coach at Motherwell Football Club, said: “With the PFA, we produce professional CVs for some of their members, including younger players who are having to retire through injury and those who are coming to the end of their careers.
“Depending on the age that a player signs their first contract, not all will have achieved Nat 5s or GCSEs at school, and such a small percentage of footballers eventually make it to a professional standard.
“So, the programmes are designed to help the kids understand what life would look like without football, how you can use the skills that you’ve gained within football and apply those to the outside world.”
Macgregor said: “Our offering is focused on what happens if they don’t make it, but also, what happens if they do because, even if they become a professional footballer, the chances are they won’t be earning £150,000 a week.
“They might be earning £1,000 a week and have a pretty solid career for 15 years, which is great, but what happens after that?
“Most will say they either want to go into coaching or media, but Sky Sports don’t hire 150 to 200 new presenters every season - the Premier League and the clubs themselves have their own pathways programmes and we're there to fill the gaps that football can’t.”
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