Young soccer players looking to move into professional ranks need to link up with agents to make the right move to launch their careers or risk falling by the wayside, according to those in the know.
Peter Paleologos, author of the book The Agents Game, says intermediaries have become an essential element of the relationship between players and clubs with benefits for both sides of the equation.
Paleologos will be speaking at the next month’s Manly Writers Festival as one of a strong field of sports writers.
He says young aspiring professional players should shop around among the more than thirty registered agents to find the right path to achieve their ambitions.
“Football clubs are looking increasingly towards developing players in the knowledge that they may well move. Players secure the most favourable deals they can. Transfer fees boost clubs. This brings money into the local system”, says Paleologos.
Only a small percentage of 17-year-olds make it through to a domestic or international professional career. Clubs and agents can now easily monitor performances through television and streaming services and gain access to a profusion of statistics. Getting attention in a competitive industry is a much more difficult task without an advocate.
Paleologos says agents thrive on their knowledge of emerging talent in the mens and womens games, the demands of markets in Europe, Asia and North America and their ability to bridge the gaps between them.
Another festival presenter, Amy Schembri, will talk about the experiences of young hopefuls as set out in her book Making It … Or Not. Schembri explores the real life journeys of young players from junior leagues to professional careers.
The festival will also present sessions featuring the growing band of authors writing football fiction for young readers. Liz Deep-Jones (Lucy Zeezou), P.J. Laverty (The Gaffer and RIPPA!), Texi Smith (Abebi) and Karen Viggers (Sidelines) all examine the emotional journeys of aspiring players.
Their stories explore issues of cultural identity, family relationships and personal growth through the lens of sporting experience.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou (pictured main) is currently the biggest Australian name in the football world. His dedication to attacking and entertaining values has been his hallmark throughout a coaching career which has won Australia an Asian Cup title and delivered domestic championship honours in Australia, Japan and Scotland.
Journalist Vince Rugari’s biography Angeball examines Postecoglou’s unique path to the top, achieved with a steadfast adherence to his progressive principles despite spells of criticism from media and fans as well as well as club owners.
David Weiner’s book The Goals That Changed Australia tells the stories of key moments in the recent history of Australia in a style designed for young readers. These include John Aloisi’s penalty in Sydney, which sent the Socceroos to the World Cup finals after 32 years in a non-qualifying wilderness, Courtney Vine’s winner in the Matildas’ epic struggle with France in at the World Cup in 2023 and many more memorable moments besides.
The festival also contains a sneak preview of the soon-to-be-launched Soccer Anzacs project.
The project is building a database of Australian soccer players who served in the AIF during World War One. This is likely to include details and stories of around 4.000 players, a valuable sporting history largely neglected in accounts of the Great War.
Australian and New Zealand military personnel played behind the lines in the Dardanelles, Egypt, England and the Western Front.
The academic and author behind the project, Dr Ian Syson, has worked for years with a small team of volunteers recovering the stories of these soldier-footballers from military records, newspapers and family accounts.
Other festival sessions on ‘Soccer Sunday’ at the Manly Golf Club include Jorge Knijnik on the beauty, politics and passion of South American football, stories from John Maynard on golf from an Aboriginal perspective and former Socceroos’ goalkeeper Jim Fraser on his life as a sportsman and police dog handler.
A ‘Sunday Pass’ to the Manly Writers’ Festival costs $79 for entry to any session (other than the Special Event with Qantas critic, Joe Aston), including a series of parallel sessions related to books on creative life, performing and music. Individual sessions start from $15, with some soccer sessions free for 13-18 year olds.
See www.manlywritersfestival.org.au for details.
Manly Observer is providing free publicity in support of the Manly Writers’ Festival
