Former Spurs goalkeeper Chloe Morgan on building a life after retirement

Former Spurs goalkeeper Chloe Morgan on building a life after retirement

Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Chloe Morgan insists it's important for footballers to prepare for retirement while they are still active in their playing career.

Morgan played for Arsenal, Spurs, and Crystal Palace while also practising as a personal injury lawyer.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Morgan, who is now the head of ‘She's A Baller’, the UK's biggest independent women’s football publisher and creative agency, says football is a very short career.

"I would definitely advise starting to build your brand before you retire from football. I think football careers are notoriously not very long.

"I was 32 when I retired. I obviously had a lot left in the tank, but at the same time I think the best way to build a brand is to go out to events like this [World Football Summit], to network,” Morgan said.

“Join organisations like Women in Soccer, Women in Football, and start speaking to people in the industry and kind of see what jobs are there, because in the women's sports space and in the sports space generally, there are so many different types of jobs you can get into.

“Such as brand partnerships, marketing, and social media. The second step is try to get that work experience, so whatever spare time you have, definitely go to speak with people and see if you can just spend a week with them, sort of shadowing them, going to meetings, and seeing what that job entails."

READ: Nigeria PFL boss positive the Super Eagles will qualify for World Cup

American basketball player Angel Reece recently made history when she became the first athlete to walk in Victoria Secret's fashion show.

Different female footballers have also, in recent years signed lucrative brand deals.

Morgan, who has launched various brand campaigns in women's football has encouraged athletes to build a strong social media presence to secure brand partnerships.

"So, when you are still playing, I think it's very, very important to still keep up the brand and make sure that you are growing engagement and views and reach. I think it's super important in terms of the career that you have afterwards but how to go about doing that?,” she added.

“I think from ‘She's A Baller’, some of the research that we've done shows that fans want behind-the-scenes content, they want content that shows the players' personalities, they want to see those kinds of funny sides.

“They want to see those moments that no one gets to see, really. You see a lot of players on the pitch but what you want to see is what they are doing at home and who they are hanging out with and how they're spending their spare time. So, it starts to open up your world a little bit as much as you feel comfortable to do so.