SPEND WISELY, URGES JAMAL
‘Planning for the future is the key’
JAMAL Fyfield is urging young footballers to make sensible decisions with their money – and plan for life after football.
The experienced Boreham Wood centre-back has been raising the important, and often unspoken, topic of financial management among his peers.
Fyfield, 31, believes it is easy for upcoming players to lead a life they cannot afford and he doesn’t want future stars falling into the same traps he did.
“Over the years I’ve made the mistake of buying things I didn’t need and it’s only when you get older you realise that,” he told The NLP.
“I’ve always tried to talk to the younger players about it, but it can be hard to get through to people because everyone has their own ideas on things. The money in the game has changed so much even in Non-League.
“When I signed for Gateshead in 2016, I bought a Range Rover. It was a twoyear contract with the club and a four-year contract with the car.
“As the payments started coming out I’m seeing £500 come out, then my tyre went, it drinks petrol, then the insurance went up.
“By the end of it I was paying £800 a month and it didn’t make any sense. When I moved to Gateshead the training ground was across the road from where I lived, I ended up not even driving it.
“I had an ASDA a five-minute walk away and a Tesco, a 15-minute drive.
“I would drive to Tesco to use the car. I ended up getting rid of it after three months. You’ve got to understand your pay bracket and really think about the long run.”
Horror
Fyfield signed a new twoyear contract with Boreham Wood last week following their defeat in the National League play-off semi-finals to eventual winners Harrogate Town.
The former Maidenhead United, York City, Welling United, Wrexham and Gateshead defender wants to continue playing football for as long as possible, but he has been planning for what he will do after retirement.
Fyfield is a UEFA B licence coach, holds a degree in sports writing and broadcasting, has completed courses in mentoring and counselling and runs his own men’s grooming product company, Purpose.
“Footballers have so much time on our hands but we don’t use it,” he said.
“At York, I would get home from training and put the TV on. I wasted two years doing nothing.
“It’s not only about investing your money but also your time and mind.
“I’m always thinking what am I going to do after. I recommend using the Professional Footballers’ Association as much as you can, they’re great and will always help you.
“I started my business about four years ago and is another thing I’ve got on the side.
“With the money I invested I could have easily gone on holiday instead but now it’s something I’ve got to fall back on.
“Footballers fall into a trap where we have a good season and think ‘I’m going to get a move to the Premier League or the Championship’, but nine times out of ten that’s not the case.
“A lot of footballers spend their money on the wrong things and then you hear the horror stories.”