This one is personal.

How many times you, if somehow connected to Football, have heard this?
Well, I had.

Many times.

Even at my own home.

And I struggle with it every time.

Let’s be real, Football isn’t a place where some families want their sons or daughters to be involved at.

It’s seen as a dirty world, where there’s a claim for “Fair-Play” but you hear more stories about Coaches getting constantly fired; Players dreams vanished with a severe injury; Law Processes involving Players, Coaches, Directors, or Presidents of important Clubs; Players left in disgrace after retiring for mismanagement of their financials; Clubs losing points for match-manipulation; Bets scandals involving Referees, Players and many other participants; Doping… and many more!

It’s fair, in all honesty.

We, people from Football, don’t treat us right, at times. 

However, here is when it gets funny – Football is “the people’s Sports”.

Proudly.

And with that sentence, it’s also attached a perception of devalue – here is where the nonsense starts.

Yes, Football is the people’s Sport, and that is the reason is the BIGGEST Sport in the World. 

But, the devalue comes from both internal and external factors.

On one hand, many stakeholders don’t treat ourselves fairly – from Coaches, Players, Directos, Investors and so on… From showing bad personal traits, “stepping other people”, being corrupt or accept corruption, among others.

Then, the external factors can be media – the kind of media that focus attention on the scandals, on promoting the wrong side of Sports. 

The Main Difference is… WE ONLY CONTROL ONE PART – the Internal Factors!

Yes, we can’t control how External Factors will behave, we can’t control what other people will do or say.

But we can control WHAT WE DO!

And with that, comes to mind the Title of this text – it starts with us, how we understand us, how we promote us, how we are able to sell our work.

I don’t know anyone that had to go through all the challenges I’ve been through – ZERO.

Of course, I know people that had some struggles, either on childhood or teenage years, others when they reach adults – from having no money to face daily requirements, as eating, to losing close parents, injuries that denied a more successful career, and so on.

And I don’t mean to diminish their pain, suffering or even successes.

Not at all.

However, I had many challenges, from professional to personal – and still, was able to have experience in Football as High-Performance Player until the age of 18, represented FC Porto and Portugal National Teams, started a Coaching career at 22 or 23 years old, started or co-founded more than 5 Companies in different Fields (from Clothing, to Sports or Medical Clinic), hold a Bachelors in Physical Education and Sports – Specialized in Football, a MBA and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Football Administration and Management by the Asian Football Confederation, among many (really, many!) Courses on Football Club Management, Coaching Management, High-Performance and Psychology in Football.

And yet: married for 10+ years, father of two and living abroad for more than 5 years…

Why do I bring all these elements to the discussion?

Because, without evaluating the intelligence of others, I know I’m definitely not at the bottom of the equation.

Just as the great majority of Football Professional Players, Coaches, Directors and so on…

We adapt as almost no other professional in any other sector, we speak many languages; we communicate regularly to dozens; hundreds or thousands of people; we “sell” them our ideas and plans; we create atmospheres, fanbases, communities and events that impact people’s life forever. 

We are surely among the most skillful and talented in the Room!

Count me in to add a layer of Transparency and Professionalism to change that perception worldwide!