Ifeel perturbed when I listen to most of the elite sportspeople cribbing about their employment opportunities and post-retirement employment or careers coming to sudden ends in departments. I also find them complaining on TV channels and social media blogs that they can’t find sufficient time to either focus on studies or continue higher studies because of investing time and energy in professional sports.

There complaint is justified to a great extent because our pathetic sports system doesn’t offer clear pathways to elite sportsperson nor is there any concept of dual career paths for professional athletes like in most of European countries, so that our sportspersons are not entirely dependent upon their short sports occupation that drains most of their energies.

The European Parliament’s working paper, “Combining Sports & Education: Support for Athletes in EU Member States” is a very elaborate paper that provides guidance to the policy makers interested in combining sports with education to create stable pathways for elite sportspeople.

The study was requested by the European Parliament committee on Culture, Youth, Education, Sport & Media in Luxembourg. It covers sports systems in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Sweden & the UK.

The report states that to be successful, athletes are obliged, from a young age, to dedicate their time & energy almost exclusively to training and competition, often at the expense of education. As a result, many athletes reach the end of their professional sports careers only to find themselves without necessary academic or vocational qualifications to gain employment in other sectors. This statement issued in November 2003 can be applied to our sports sector situation in 2022.

The EU study encompasses provisions for talented young athletes at secondary school level, quotas for athletes in universities, and flexibility given within the university system regarding timetables, assignment deadlines and exam schedules. It also encompasses the process of grants to be given to athletes who decide to start education after sports careers and general support to athletes who wish to combine professional sports with studies.

The study also deals with athletes’ long-term career prospects in both the public and private sectors. Within the context of employment, the study discusses whether or not current or retired athletes are given preference over other candidates for recruitment in the public sector and what incentives exist for private companies to employ athletes who have retired from sports.

It is difficult to summarise the entire paper in this article but I shall cover the salient features of the report so that policy makers and sports enthusiasts can draw lessons for application in our sports education policy where necessary.

In Germany, financial assistance is offered to secondary level students enrolled in “Elite Sports Schools”. The Spanish Olympic Committee provides bursaries to student athletes to cover training courses. The Netherlands has a grant scheme for top level athletes which provides the equivalent of 70 percent of the standard social welfare benefit for a single person.

Germany, France, Finland and Wales offer education grants specifically for retired professional athletes who wish to begin or resume their education. If we look at the quotas for entry of athletes to universities, we find that in Spain a quota of 5 percent is kept for courses in physical activity and three 3 percent in regular courses.

In Greece, there is a quota of 30 percent for admission to athletics and sports education faculties which is above the normal number of students admitted each year.

Germany has a concept of “Squad Elite Athletes” who get bonus points in exams. In Finland there are polytechnics which run special degree programmes for athletes.

Under the special athletic support programmes, some EU member states run special programmes for elite level athletes. These programs offer financial support, advice on education, training and career planning.

In Germany, Olympic support centers provide support to athletes and coaches in matters related to sports medicine, physiotherapy and scientific training. In Spain and Italy, the national Olympic committee works in association with a recruitment agency to assist former athletes to secure employment after they have retired from full-time sports.

Germany absorbs its top athletes in border police, army and customs. In Greece, athletes who obtain at least one distinction either in team or individual sport can occupy a position in public administration.

In Spain, high-level sportspersons get jobs in law enforcement agencies and security forces.

In France, where next Olympics will be held, positions are offered to elite players in postal services, national railways, oil and gas companies and regional and local authorities.

The French government also extends a loan up to 25000 Euro to high-level athletes for establishing business. These loans are to be paid back over a period of four years at one percent interest rate only.

In Luxembourg, the military has a sports department for talented young athletes which facilitates their entry into low-level positions in state administrative services.

The Netherland defense forces offer contracts to professional athletes giving them the opportunity to combine military careers with sports which is quite similar to that of Pakistan defense forces which have so far done great service to elite sportsmen.

Employment opportunities for athletes in the private sector in EU countries is equally encouraging. In Germany a national pool of private companies offers internships and employment compatible with full time competitive sport. In this regard the Sports Aid Foundation provides financial compensation for loss of earnings to companies which employ athletes.

In June 2001, the Ministry of Budgetary Affairs and Ministry of Sports in France launched a joint initiative that offers tax incentives to companies which employ athletes.

Under the UK Wide Athletic & Career Education programme known as OPEN (Olympic & Paralympic Employment Network) athletes secure flexible employment during their active competitive careers.

Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Finland and Denmark don’t leave their national heroes on the streets to suffer after retirement. They offer pension schemes specially designed to offer respectable living to sportspersons.

In Germany, they have more than 40 Elite Sports Schools which are recognised by German Sports Confederation (DSB). These schools aim to reconcile the requirements of competitive sports and school education, cooperating closely with sports clubs, federations and high performance centers.

The German sports aid foundation (Stiftung Deutsche Sportshilfe) offers bursaries to professional athletes who are enrolled in university programmes and decide to retire after a competitive sports career. Later in 2003-4, 45 German Universities had cooperation agreements with Olympic support centers and National Sports Federations to accommodate students who wish to pursue a professional sports career. Thus special efforts are made to facilitate and promote athletes within EU universities that serve as the backbone of the EU elite sports system.

Despite the availability of abundant talent, our sports system has been striving hard to survive since the 18th Amendment. The ministry of IPC and provincial sports departments remain confused over sports development programmes due to lack of coordination and resources.

Sportspersons themselves are also unaware of their responsibilities to adopt a dual career approach. It is time the government provided incentives to elite sportsperson of Pakistan such as extending them loans on easy terms to start their businesses, encouraging private and public sector companies to provide jobs to elite athletes and hatching sports education policies for committed and serious athletes, so that Pakistan could also produce “educated sportspersons” who are not a burden on the system but are a capable of contributing to the growth of economy.

Aamir Bilal is an eminent sports analyst with expertise in sports management and sports for development

sdfsports@gmail.com