Football players, in most parts of the world, rank among the highest-earning athletes. Unfortunately, the retirement experiences of many former professional footballers have been far from rosy. Within the sports media landscape, there have been documented cases of once-wealthy footballers who quickly went bankrupt after retirement. Notable examples in Ghana include former Black Stars players such as Sammy Adjei, John Naawu, Joe Odoi, Prince Addu Poku, and Amusa Gbadamoshie.
According to some scholars, this unfortunate situation can be partly attributed to the high risk of falling into a professional void. This is because, like most sports, football imparts skills that aren’t easily transferable to non-sporting occupations. Moreover, job opportunities in football are quite limited. As a result, most footballers earn a substantial income during their active careers but face a high degree of income uncertainty upon retirement.
The lifestyle of footballers, both during their active playing years and after retirement, has also been identified in several reports as a significant driver of the financial difficulties some footballers encounter. Furthermore, there have been reported instances of footballers engaging in irresponsible financial behavior, such as gambling, extravagant spending on luxury items, lavish parties, and generally maintaining an expensive and unsustainable lifestyle. This behavior is often linked to a lack of financial knowledge.
I am a professor of accounting who, along with others, conducted a study to examine the level of financial literacy among professional footballers in Ghana and its impact on their financial behavior and overall financial well-being.
Our findings revealed low levels of financial literacy and poor financial behavior among footballers. The results strongly support the idea that promoting responsible financial behavior, as measured in this study by savings and investment behavior, is crucial for achieving financial well-being in life.
Study Design:
Financial literacy is defined as the ability to apply the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively manage one’s financial resources in order to enhance future well-being.
On the other hand, financial behavior encompasses the ability to plan, budget, monitor, manage, control, search for, and save daily funds. It covers spending and saving habits, borrowing patterns, budgeting, and access to financial products.
We surveyed 300 footballers who participated in the 2020 Ghana Premier League using questionnaires. The questionnaire consisted of two sections: one focusing on the respondents’ demographic information and the other on their financial literacy, financial behaviors, and financial well-being.
The Ghana Premier League consists of 18 registered clubs. At the time of the study, these clubs employed 480 registered footballers. Ghanaian clubs have relatively low net worth compared to clubs in Europe, England, Asia, and many other parts of Africa. International transfer revenues, a vital source of funding for most Ghanaian clubs, have been consistently low. For instance, the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) reported in 2021 that Ghanaian football clubs collectively made a net profit of only US$50 million in the past decade.
Footballers’ Financial Situation:
Our study revealed that the majority of footballers were young, with nearly 90% being 30 years old or younger, which is consistent with footballers in other countries, given that footballers are typically active in their prime years. About 86% had received some form of education, primarily up to the senior high school level. Most respondents were married, and almost 58% of them had three or more dependents in addition to their immediate family. Consequently, most footballers were responsible for providing for their families, although 39% mentioned living with their parents or friends. On average, these footballers earned a net monthly income of GHS2,000 (equivalent to US$177 at the time of the study), which, when compared to other professionals, is relatively low.
Overall, we found that footballers had a low level of financial literacy. They expressed a strong interest in setting long-term financial goals but showed little enthusiasm for acquiring financial knowledge. Therefore, it was not surprising that many footballers were unsure about their spending habits and where their money was going.
Furthermore, our study indicated that footballers, in general, did not demonstrate responsible financial behavior. Very few of them expressed interest in financial products like bonds, stocks, mutual funds, and insurance policies. However, they appeared diligent in comparing prices when making purchases.
Interestingly, footballers were optimistic about their financial well-being. The majority of those surveyed were confident in their ability to meet their current financial needs, had a positive outlook on their future financial requirements, and made choices to enjoy life. The average footballer was always hopeful of securing lucrative contracts in the future.
Enhancing Financial Well-Being:
Efforts to improve the financial well-being of footballers should begin with investing in training programs to enhance their financial literacy. Additionally, football clubs can employ financial coaches to provide practical guidance to players during their active careers to help shape their financial behavior.
As financial well-being is closely linked to psychological well-being, such initiatives could have a positive impact on the players’ performance on the field.
