Nicolas Sahnoun and Alexander Torres to give unemployed players a lifeline
Whether you are an unemployed player or seeking to move on from a poor footballing experience, come visit the facilities of the 21e Equipe which has been created by former Bordeaux man Nicolas Sahnoun and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alexandre-c4885 Torres
The profession of being a footballer is often considered to be a privilege and those who are in the profession are lucky to be doing what many people consider the best http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684 in the world. However, most of us forget that many pros go through the agony of being
unemployed.
Many free agents keep on looking for clubs and are unable to find one which is becoming more and more frequent these days. Some players, when they fully realise that their football careers are over, find it hard to move on from the phase and find it difficult
to land new jobs.
Currently, there are various organisations that work to help those players like the UNFP. Recently, a new organisation has emerged name the 21em Equipe that aims to help players.
Created by former FC Girondins de Bordeaux midfielder Nicolas Sahnoun and Alexander Torres, this entity is set to open its doors in January 2012. While talking to Foot Mercato, Nicolas Sahnoun spoke about what the project was aimed at.
Sahnoun said that the idea struck him when he was at Montpellier Herault in 2009. The Frenchman cancelled his contract with the club and had no opportunity to train. Sahnoun said that he was alone and did not know how to stay in shape. However, he met Alexander
Torres and both shared their experiences of not being able to find new clubs.
Sahnoun said that it took them almost a year to see what to do. It was during that time the duo started seriously thinking about helping out players who go through the same problems they did a few months back.
“We do not want them trying to find a new job, but to guide them to discover skills they may have in some areas. We want to open their eyes to the world of work because there is a difference between being a footballer and being a normal employee,” Sahnoun
says.
The duo approached the town of Saint http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jean-c18112 d’Illac which is right next to the Merignac airport. Sahnoun and Torres approached the mayor of the city in a bid to kick start the initial work for the project.
“He (mayor) has also signed an agreement which includes a shelter (a residential three-star hotel),” said Sahnoun.
This project invites players to come forward and talk about their difficult situations. Players will benefit a lot from many working sessions and the program also includes friendly games with different teams.
“We will start in January. There will be four sessions: one in January, one in February, March and April. These will be three-week sessions. For example the first will be from 9 to 27th January. Of these three weeks, there will be training from
Monday to Friday, plus one game per week.”
However, Sahnoun is not looking to put a halt to the project just in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984.
Sahnoun is also planning to conduct meetings and interviews with former athletes who have all passed through this phase during some point of their careers.
Unlike the UNFP project, this course aims to provide players with additional tools to maintain their qualities; technical, tactical and physical.
Though the project might not solve the unemployment issues in football, but it will give free agents a hope to move on from football and try finding jobs.
Sahnoun says that it is better than staying at home and waiting for a call that might never come. The 21e is still looking for financial and logistical support so it would be great if clubs all around Europe help out Sahnoun and Torres in order to make the
project a success.
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