We developed ProDataStack to address the three problems I listed in our first blog post, Athletes and Their Data – Why all the Fuss?, but in addition to these, we were also thinking about a professional athlete’s future career. We asked ourselves what would provide a sustainable opportunity for professional athletes, which addressed more than their on-the-field prowess?

What Athlete Data is Important?

First party data – for example, a database of a footballer’s fans, irrespective of their team allegiance – is clearly one of the most valuable assets our platform provides. This data provides their athletes and their agents with the ability to use email marketing to promote their sponsors, their foundation, a coaching business they’ve launched, their ecommerce business, a window cleaning business, or a restaurant they’ve invested in. ProDataStack users can now all benefit from the digital marketing channel that continues to deliver the highest ROI with the most customer insight.

But then something happened last week that gave me more clarity on this particular objective – the need to provide post-playing opportunities for an athlete of any level. It came as a result of a podcast I recorded with Daniel Jinaduand Tobi Sho-Silva, two Maidenhead United footballers who are putting their beliefs, their off-the-field energy, and their focus into this very area with their business, Beyond Football®.  I was there to talk about the importance of athletes having access to and control of their data, and how ProDataStack makes this task easy through one application, one log-in, etc, but Daniel and Tobi took the time to tell me about some of the pressures and challenges that footballers face, particularly in the dressing room.

What are the challenges for Professional Athletes?

As an outsider, it’s easy to assume that footballers don’t have challenges and don’t have to think about their futures – that their lives are “all set” because they’re one of the lucky 124,000 folks earning a living from their playing talents. But don’t forget, most professional footballers don’t reach De Bruyne-level presence, many will have to leave the game before they reach their peak because of injuries, and only 10% to 20% will be earning more than £100k p.a. Yes, I know that’s still a decent wage, but the point is, when an immense talent is identified at an early age – particularly in football –  they tend to focus more on their sport and less on their education. This leaves them with a more compromised post-playing future and could weigh on them quite heavily as they age.

Daniel and Tobi’s business goes beyond the need for footballers to start collecting their data, it provides workshops on key areas of personal development, they deliver one-on-one consulting, and their podcast features contributions from former/current players and professional advisors from all fields. We’ve also recently learned of Thrive, a soon-to-be-launched first-of-its-kind community platform connecting athletes with career pathways, education, events, mentors, and business opportunities, developed by former footballers Tim Alexander and Joe Davis, along with change agent and disruptor Aimee Howells.

Both these businesses are almost a “public service”, albeit for a specific user group and one you might think doesn’t need that much support. But whilst being a pro footballer might be considered a privilege to some, you’ve only got to look at the trouble that Tony Adams, Paul Merson, Michael Owen, and Paul Gascoigne got into in the past to know that it comes with its own challenges. And more recently the industry has benefitted from Marcus Rashford, Eniola Aluko, Michael Carrick, and Aaron Lennon being so open about their mental health challenges.

ProDataStack can’t help with an athlete’s mental health – unlike Beyond Football and Thrive who are using their firsthand knowledge to support the challenges faced by sporting talent – but we can ensure your financial position is optimised, now and in the future. And while life is not just about how much money you earn, financial stress can be a major contributing factor.

If you’d like a demo to understand how ProDataStack can help with your financial future, book a demo or speak with a member of our team today.

Anyone wanting to help their current efforts should get in touch with either Daniel or Tobi directly. Tobi also runs a foundation to help footballers pursue their faith – you can read more about it and make donations here https://f3football.com/