The Proposal: A Proper Professional Football League for Retired Players

The above chipped beauty by a 40 year old Dennis Bergkamp, scored while playing for “Ajax Seniors”, has been a minor internet revelation. And rightly so. It’s a reminder of what an incredible talent Bergkamp was, and also a confirmation of the old motto: “Class is permanent”.

Bergkamp’s bit of genius got me thinking… what if we could see this sort of thing more often? There are plenty of retired players that football fans would love to see in action again. Which is how I came up with a totally unworkable, completely oxymoronic, but still (I think) brilliant idea: A professional football league for retired players.

Hear me out on this…

If you play in a recreational/pub/Sunday league, then there’s a good chance that that league has at least one 30+ or 40+ or Masters or Veterans division. Basically, a league for players who still want to play competitively but are too decrepit “experienced” to cut it in the open age division.

Surely there must be a wealth of retired professional players who would love to keep on playing competitively. They can drop down the divisions of course, and play at a much lower standard. But it has to be frustrating for sublimely talented former top flight pros to play both with and against players who are 1. Younger, 2. Fitter, 3. Comparatively talentless, 4. Possibly out to get you.

I’m thinking of someone like Paul Gascoigne, who went as far afield as China in an attempt to keep playing, and once said:

“I get depressed when I don’t play. It’s been killing me. It can last for as long as three months, but I know when I have a ball at my feet, I’m safe. I’m happy again, it’s all I know.”

Gazza is extreme example of course, but I’m sure there are plenty of ex-pros struggling to find a suitable level of competition.

There are the legends matches and charity matches that we all enjoy, but if you’re a former pro looking to play regularly, those games are few and far between, and (with good reason) not played in a competitive spirit. There are also competitions like Masters Football in the UK, but that’s 6-a-side and indoor. Not quite the real thing.

So here’s my proposal: An actual, real deal, competitive football league, for players that have retired from professional football. The setup would mirror professional football in many ways. Proper leagues and proper teams, and the players would be contracted to specific clubs for the entire season (as opposed to just making random guest appearances).

Obviously the players wouldn’t do proper “training” (which is hard work, and l’m sure something many ex-pros don’t miss, at least in terms of the intense physical conditioning) but the games between teams would be for points, in a league or cup system, and therefore competitive.

The big benefit to the players is that they’d be playing with and against players similar to themselves: Talented, experienced ex-pros who are too far over the hill to play in the big leagues anymore.

Hopefully some modestly sized crowds would be willing to pay a small amount to see players like Dennis Bergkamp, Zinedine Zidane and Paolo Maldini in action (alongside some less famous, but still formerly professional players). Maybe even a little TV deal? What do you think?

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Category: World Football