An official job must be created for the athlete that guarantees him a retirement salary

The Golden Generation player and former coach of Al-Nasr and Al-Wasl clubs, Salem Rabie, stressed the importance of creating an official job for the athlete, guaranteeing him a retirement salary at the end of his career, stressing that this right should not be limited to football players only, but should include various sports, because this has a direct positive impact on the stability of the players and the level of their technical giving during the period of practice and beyond.

He told Emirates Today: “Providing a retirement umbrella for players will reflect greatly positively on their sports career, whether during activity or after retirement, by enhancing the element of psychological and living stability, which in turn contributes to raising the overall technical performance and developing the sports system comprehensively.”

He added: “The proposal requires the issuance of a government decision, which is based on clear controls and mechanisms to ensure the future of athletes is secured, and to ensure that the player receives a retirement salary after a specific period of time, in a manner commensurate with what their fellow employees in other sectors receive.”

He continued: “Implementing this proposal requires an active role for the Pensions Institution, by deducting a percentage of the players’ salaries during the period of their playing sports, especially since the salaries of many of them are considered remunerative and allow such deductions, in a way that achieves justice and sustainability in the proposed retirement system.”

He continued: “The football ages of some players may extend to 15 years or less, which provides an appropriate opportunity to implement this system, and the player will be able to complete the required years of service later, by continuing to work in the sports field after retirement, whether as a coach, assistant coach, administrator, or in any other position within the sports system, to complete the period necessary to reach the grades that secure him a retirement salary, according to the mechanisms in force at the Pensions and Social Security Authority.”