EU soccer boss pledges more support for Irish players (4th Feb, 2010)
February 4, 2010 at 6:08 pm Leave a comment
The Chairman of the European Club Association, Karl Heinz Rummenigge, has vowed to promote greater support for youth soccer players who travel abroad for training. Speaking in Brussels this week, the former Germany international and CEO of Bayern Munich said young players starting out in the professional game need more educational and social back-up.
During a meeting with Irish MEPs, Mr Rummenigge strongly criticised one English club which took 30 players from abroad, only to send most of them home a year later without any support system.
Irish MEP and former GAA President Sean Kelly said he would be 100 per cent behind any EU initiative to protect youth players. ‘Each year, hundreds of Irish teenagers cross the channel in the hope of forging a career in the English game, but unfortunately a lot of them are thrown on the scrapheap; they are often only left with a bitter taste in their mouths and lacking the skills and education to progress in the jobs market,’ he said.
Mr Kelly praised Mr Rummenigge’s commitment to take the initiative in his role as Chair of the European Club Association, and said it was a big opportunity for professional football to ‘put its house in order’.
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