The first step to creating a football CV is coming up with a plan. You must think logically, and you need to consider WHO you want to send this email to. Different teams look for different players. Once you have an idea of who you want to send your CV to, you can start planning what details you want to add.
Now you have an idea of who you want to send your football CV to, let’s start jotting down the basics. As you can imagine, you’ll need your basic contact details.
Name
Phone number
Location (city, country)
After, you’ll want to add your football player details. This will give the teams and/or agents a better understanding of what type of football player you can and what they can expect from you. It’s important here to really come across as a great player, as you are. But just take a minute to imagine how many player CVs these teams receive on a daily basis, and then think what you can add to your football CV in order to stick out from the crowd. Here’s some details to add:
Date of birth
1st position
2nd position (if applicable)
Best playing level (what was the best league you have ever played in so far? - gives the team an understanding of your quality already)
Willing to travel (how far?)
Personal profile (write a short paragraph about yourself - another opportunity to sell yourself)
Player profile (write another short paragraph about the football version of yourself - what personality you have on the pitch)
This section is extremely important, these are the most important details for the clubs so it’s important to get it right. Take your time with your answers and really try to come across as the player they’re looking for. The player their team is missing in order to succeed. What can you truly bring to a club? By now, your football CV should be coming together quite nicely. But there’s a few more things to add. Next, you need to include your experience and club history.
So list the clubs you’ve been at so far; what years you were there for; what you achieved at these clubs. For a bonus, you can include which positions you played at these clubs. If you’re currently at a club, state that too. Equally if you’re without a club, state that you’re a free agent.
After all of this, you have the main principles all together and your CV should be almost finished. We just need to finalise it and add the last details. The next few details are optional, but all add up to making your football CV 10x better and will help you get the upper hand on everyone else who is trying to secure a trial.
List your main football skills, try not to make this generic and make it specific as you can. Things like ‘passing’, ‘shooting’ are not good. Anyone can list these, think of traits that STICK out. You’re fast? Try athleticism. You’re good at shooting? Try clinical finisher. Your vision is good? Try match IQ or awareness.
Starting to get the picture?
Next, languages. Being bilingual is such a benefit as a footballer nowadays. So many clubs, even at the semi-pro and amateur level, have several nationalities in their team. Which is why it can help them if you speak other languages. Or if you’re looking to travel abroad for a trial, this language can come in handy. So list your languages, and state to what level you can speak said language.
Lastly, add a clear HD picture of yourself. Either a head shot or an action shot of your playing. Just make sure it’s HD and your face can be clearly seen.
Secret bonus no one else uses:
Now this is something that is going to change your whole career. Where you add your contact details, add a link to your LinkedIn profile. Don’t have one? Create one, like right now. LinkedIn is an absolute game-changer for football players looking for trial opportunities. So do it. I’m going to write a blog about LinkedIn and how to use it as a footballer in the future.
So that should just about wrap up your football CV, and you’re ready to network. This can be a tough task, and even perfecting your CV can be difficult. You need to make sure it looks good and professional as well.
Which is exactly why we help players create football CVs and we even help them find trials at clubs all over the world.