The UNFP is moving up a gear.
Nearly a year after launching the "Unlimited Players" program, it received political approval and is now the subject of an agreement signed in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, Youth and sports.
“
It is the culmination of more than a year of work, but it is above all a start
,” says Sylvain Kastendeuch, co-president of the UNFP (National Union of Professional Footballers).
We will be able to work in the service of players by creating bridges between sport and education.
The Minister is voluntary and very sensitive to sporting activity.
»
"
This signature is one of the finest illustrations of the intention we had in setting up the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
", remarked Jean-Michel Blanquer on the occasion of the signing of this Rue de Grenelle convention.
This aims to carve in stone bridges between two domains that are far from being poles apart.
But also and above all to support the programs set up by the UNFP via "Unlimited Players", intended for players both in training and experienced.
“
We are going to train our players aged 13 to 35 and over with answers adapted to all age groups
”, explains the co-president of the union, to which more than 90% of professional players belong today.
Read alsoWhy the players' union is launching a vast program to better "educate" footballers
A career lasts an average of seven years
Programs that apply both to the career and to the years that follow it, while the integration into society of professional players remains precarious.
“
Unlike 30 or 40 years ago, society gives even fewer gifts, we no longer have easy jobs or complacency
, regrets Kastendeuch.
We must therefore give an important background to our players.
The average length of a career is 7 years, so the second life is much longer and you have to prepare them for that.
»
It's not normal to have thousands of players who don't know how to bounce back because they lack resources
Sylvain Kastendeuch, co-president of the UNFP
Steve Savidan, whose "atypical career" ended prematurely due to a heart defect, knows something about it.
“
It's a very good development for football,
rejoices “Savigol”, present for the occasion.
It's good to see the Ministry getting involved in both training and sports.
He advocates what I have always advocated with the 30 minutes a day.
“Today, the former international striker (a selection) has become a sports coach, implementing a successful conversion that is not unique to all his peers.
Read alsoParis 2024: 30 minutes to put sport into your daily life
"
It's not normal to have thousands of players who don't know how to bounce back because they lack resources.
They are super efficient but they remain apprentices in life, often ill-equipped to get up with dignity when they fail
, ”says Kastendeuch.
"
It's a very old problem that is experiencing progress both upstream (quality schooling to prepare their future) and downstream (additional studies to then integrate with acquired skills)
, answers Jean- Michael Blanker.
We have paved the way for high-level athletes to integrate national education, in particular with management staff functions because they have developed these skills with their work as athletes
.
Train a generation of “enlightened citizens”
This vast societal initiative is therefore intended for a whole sporting public more than ever at the center of society with the next deadlines, starting with the 2022 World Cup but also the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Paris Games, two events major ones to come on the territory.
“
More than ever, we take on the responsibility of being a union of public utility,
continues Kastendeuch
.
The objective is to have inspiring athletes who will make the country shine and hope by being enlightened, demanding and passionate citizens.
Free, strong and proud athletes who take action for others and carry an entire generation with them
.”
And it is the current athletes, necessarily better known to the general public, who will do the best publicity for this initiative and the need to think about the future.
"
Obviously, if professional footballers who have a lot of prestige get involved, this will accentuate this dynamic
", agrees the Minister of Education.
The only active player present at the signing of the Convention, Yannick Cahuzac (RC Lens) knows the stakes all too well: “
It is important to send the right messages thanks to our experience and our experience, to prevent this new generation to make mistakes that we may have made, to put them on the right path.
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