Pathway · Step up
Professional Player (Lower Leagues) to Top-Flight Professional Player
How to move from Professional Player (Lower Leagues) to Top-Flight Professional Player: what to learn, what to prove and what formal steps, if any, are needed.
Qualification check for Top-Flight Professional Player
Not needed
No qualification is needed for the new role. Evidence of results, reputation and relationships decide this move. Nothing formal is required. Players who plan for retirement often take coaching licences or executive programmes while still playing.
The move at a glance
Professional Player (Lower Leagues)
A full-time player in second-tier, third-tier or lower professional leagues.
Top-Flight Professional Player
A full-time player in a top division or international squad.
Skills and knowledge to build
Your current skill set already covers the core of the target role. Focus on scope, visibility and results.
Experience and routes that help
The routes into your current role also work for this one. Focus on a wider scope of responsibility.
Qualifications to consider
What the new role asks of you
- Perform in matches under heavy scrutiny
- Work with large staff teams on performance and health
- Manage media, sponsors and personal brand
Practical steps
- Ask for a small piece of the new role's work before you apply, for example one of the tasks above.
- Close the top gap first.
- Keep a record of two results that show you working at the next level.
- Talk to three people who do the job. Ask how they got in, and who they would recommend you speak to.