Allocating pensions and social insurance for players after retirement is a shared responsibility

Kalba Club Vice President, Ahmed Al Zaabi, confirmed that the issue of allocating pensions and social insurance for football players after retirement is a shared responsibility among all those in charge of the game’s affairs, stressing the importance of dealing with this file with a comprehensive vision that goes beyond immediate solutions.

He said: “Football players practice a profession with a limited life span, extending for a few years before sporting activity stops, which requires providing an integrated social system that guarantees them and their families a decent life after retirement, and in a way that is commensurate with the football player’s status as a member of Emirati society.”

He added: “The issue requires working to build early awareness among players, starting with interest in the educational aspect and obtaining university degrees, which opens up broader horizons for them to enter the labor market after the end of their sporting career.”

He cited the experience of FC Barcelona and Spanish national team defender, Pau Cobarci, who continued his university education in parallel with his football brilliance, realizing the importance of education in his life after retirement, and not being satisfied with the conviction that financial returns alone are sufficient to secure the future.

He said: “I put this model in front of the national players to benefit from it, especially since a large number of players may stop their sporting career before crossing the 30-year-old barrier, which forces them to think about education more deeply, in addition to good management of financial resources and saving from football revenues, in preparation for establishing special projects or entering into different fields of work after retirement.”

Al Zaabi concluded his statements by stressing that “protecting the player after the end of his career is not only achieved by demanding pensions and insurance, but rather begins with the awareness of the player himself, and an integrated system in which clubs, federations and players participate, to ensure a safe and sustainable future for the people of the game.”