FAQ

Absolutely! For many athletes, their first foray into a post-sports career was the same: when asked how they managed to land their first job, many will reveal that they were offered an opportunity by someone they know. By joining the Athletes Network, you’re increasing the likelihood of being offered one of those opportunities by drawing on our impressive pool of contacts, including decision-makers from a range of industries and people with all kinds of career backgrounds.

• Making the transition to the workforce after a career as an athlete is challenging on many levels. You can never go back to your original career as an athlete. The structure of your day is completely different. You’re suddenly far away from your teammates and trainers. You need a new challenge and a new job you can channel all that passion into instead of your sport. Once you have become a member of the Athletes Network, you’ll feel that you always have someone by your side, guiding you through the process so you don’t have to go through it all alone. Speaking to like-minded people and hearing other athletes’ success stories is bound to help ease some of your fears for the future.
• You can attend our ATHLETES DAY twice a year at no extra cost. Our top events combine sport and business at cool locations with just the right vibes.
• You don’t have to have already left behind your sporting career to enjoy many of the benefits on offer to the Athletes Network. For example, you may be invited by a business to take part in an event. Our partners can book you to speak or be interviewed at a customer or employee event – if it’s something you’re interested in and feel ready for – and we will pay you for this appearance.
• Lots of businesses we partner with also offer you the opportunity to try them out. Job shadowing is a highly effective way for you to gain an insight into multiple professions and what they involve on a day-to-day basis. Any contact you have with business representatives, employees and future colleagues represents an opportunity to portray yourself in a positive light, which may help you later down the line in your next career.

• Business owners are always looking for talented and versatile candidates to hire. When you partner with the Athletes Network, you can draw on the athlete mindset and gain access to an incredible pool of one-of-a-kind candidates.
• In the short term, our partners can invite athletes to speak at their businesses, give an interview or attend a customer/employee event with the aim of learning from their experience.
• Partnering with the Athletes Network has plenty of potential in terms of communications. Supporting and benefiting from athletes’ resources can be presented as an innovative sponsorship deal with social impact. Athletes representing any sport – including, for example, dancers – can become a member, meaning that the support you offer is spread out as evenly as possible over all disciplines.

• Any top athlete who has reached or is still reaching a high level of sporting achievement can become a member. We welcome dancers and athletes of all disciplines to join us. It doesn’t matter if you’re currently working as an athlete or if you’ve already retired. If you’re part of a team sport, you can join the network if you play or have played in the top two leagues. Otherwise, you need to still be or have been performing at the highest level nationally.
• Our mission is to raise awareness of the challenges involved in transitioning to the world of work after a career as an athlete. With our sights set on this goal, we aim to reach as many athletes as possible and bring them into the conversation to unlock peer guidance and support. That’s why removing as many entry barriers as possible and funding the work we’re doing for athletes through other means is so important to us. We reserve the right to potentially charge a small membership fee as required in the future.
• Become a member and spread the word: https://www.athletes-network.com/membership/

• We are building THE NETWORK to help former athletes adjust to life after their sporting career. We bring together all the stakeholders from this world – athletes, businesses, clubs, associations, educational institutions, psychologists and athletes’ advisers.
• Our network establishes mutually beneficial connections, allowing businesses to draw on the athlete mindset while athletes lay the foundations for their career change by working with our partner businesses.

• We never stop adding to our product range – we are committed to getting athletes business ready as they transition from their sporting careers to their next chapter in the workforce. The first service we offer helps athletes to define their position. In this one-to-one consultation, we work with you to create your very own personal plan to help you overcome challenges in a structured and systematic way.
• Clubs and associations can also book an awareness workshop for their athletes, which reiterates the message that top athletes should start focusing on their life after sport as soon as possible and highlights the benefits of planning properly for this career change. Athletes Academy will be adding more services as time goes on.

• The following benefits are on offer to athletes*

• • Gain free entry to our ATHLETES DAY twice a year as a fantastic opportunity to meet like-minded people from the worlds of sport and business.
  • Increase visibility surrounding your career outside of the world of top-level sport. Join while you’re still immersed in your sporting career and build up a strong business network before you make the transition.
  • Hand out your business card and earn a decent amount of money. Businesses may invite you for one-off engagements through the Athletes Network, such as an interview, speech or appearance at a customer or employee event. (If you’re interested, please get in touch and share your ideas with us!)

• The following benefits are on offer to businesses*

• • You can invite current and former athletes from the Athletes Network to your business. You may ask them to make a speech, give an interview or take part in an employee or customer event.
  • You can employ someone with an athlete mindset into your business through the Athletes Network. This could be a permanent position or a placement.
  • Showing your ongoing support for the rich resources provided by top-level athletes can give your brand a competitive edge, making it stand out in the eyes of your employees and customers.
  • Please contact us directly for our detailed value proposition for businesses.

The Athletes Network delivers value to no end of stakeholders from the world of sport. We are committed to making our ecosystem open and inclusive. Our partnership models clearly demonstrate that the Athletes Network is a network benefiting the wider worlds of sport and business rather than just being reserved for the athletes themselves.

Please email us (mail@athletes-network.com) or contact us on social media to discuss partnering with us.

• The Athletes Network Donors Club is exactly what you’re looking for. This gives businesses and patrons the opportunity to engage in some networking and get involved in a project with long-term value.
• Advocates can champion the idea by making a donation to the Athletes Network Donors Club. It couldn’t be more straightforward.

• Face-to-face networking is a skill that’s often underestimated. So many success stories starring athletes who have made their first foray into their post-sports career have started with a contact in their own personal networks. Not all athletes have a strong enough network for this to happen to them.
• The ATHLETES DAYS (held twice a year) give businesses and athletes regular opportunities to systematically expand and nurture their networks. Athletes will be amazed at just how quickly their own networks grow. Businesses will be able to make valuable connections with current and former athletes. Athletes who have already started or are about to start the process of making this transition can learn a lot from former athletes who have already been through it all themselves. Engaging in meaningful discussions with people in similar situations also relieves feelings of emptiness or loneliness that athletes may be feeling at this stage of their career.

• Our Athletes Network ecosystem consists of an association and Athletes Academy AG. The association is operated on a not-for-profit basis and all members can get involved and have some input through a delegate assembly. Athletes Academy AG runs the Athletes Network association and the entire ecosystem benefiting all the different stakeholders.
• We offer paid partnership models for clubs, associations, educational institutions and businesses. Plus, we deliver services for athletes through our Athletes Academy.