Types of Soccer Jobs
Soccer, the world's most popular spectator sport, is also a very profitable business. Large-capacity stadiums, coupled with worldwide television audiences and big name advertisers, continue to generate for soccer fabulous revenues which translate into many high-paying and high-profile positions and other kinds of opportunities for soccer-related work. This article outlines the types of jobs related to soccer (or "football" as the rest of the world calls it).
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Soccer Stars and Salaries
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The highest-profile (and often highest-paying) jobs in soccer go to professional players. The well-known soccer player David Beckham signed a $50 million, 5-year contract with a Los Angeles team, while the Portuguese star Ronaldo signed a contract with the Spanish professional team Real Madrid for what translates to $200,000 a week. The average annual salary of a professional soccer player in the United States is $80,000; for a pro in England, the average is $940,000.
Other High-Paying Jobs In Soccer
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Good coaches often get paid as well as players, and likewise the executives who run the clubs and the sport's various leagues and organizations. High profile team managers include Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United, Jose Mourinho of A.C. Milan and Arsene Wegner of Arsenal. Peter Kenyan, the high-profile executive running the Chelsea soccer club, is probably the highest-paid club president, earning 3.5 million pounds annually.
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Other High-Profile Jobs
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The highest-profile soccer executive is Joseph Blatter, president of FIFA, the world governing body of soccer. He travels frequently all over the world, often in a chartered jet. Michel Platini, former French soccer star and now president of UEFA, is well-known by the football world. And the full-time president of the Asian Football Confederation, Mohamad bin Hammam of Qatar, is known all over Asia, even if he was never a top football player.
Soccer players and officials of other national and regional associations are also normally well-known personalities in their own countries, many of which have soccer as their national sport.
Other Soccer Technicians
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There are many other soccer jobs and positions. Those include assistant coaches, trainers, and referees, as well as other administrators and personnel who run the competitions, venues, associations, clubs, schools, and camps, both in and out of high schools, colleges, and universities. The areas of general management, finance and marketing also offer job opportunities. Jobs in FIFA, UEFA, AFC and other international soccer organizations often are as coveted as jobs with national associations and local soccer clubs.
Business and Job Opportunities
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Because the game of soccer continues to grow in popularity, opportunities are aplenty. Successful soccer schools and training camps earn good income and so do the coaches and trainers who work there. During big games, sellers of merchandise abound and many part-time jobs become available. Recruiters abound, some dedicated solely to soccer.
Soccer Suppliers
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In addition to jobs in soccer-playing venues, there are now many stores that specialize in soccer merchandise or that have special soccer sections. Those businesses sell soccer shoes, balls, shirts, shin guards, goalkeeper's gloves, socks, souvenirs and other items. Those stores normally prefer to hire people who are able to speak with authority about soccer, such as amateur or scholastic players. There are, of course, also jobs in the businesses that produce and trade (import and export) in such merchandise.
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