The Football Federation of Macedonia is implementing a joint project with the Football Association of Slovenia, the Football Association of Azerbaijan, FIBA Europe, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Italian non-governmental organization TDM called "Sport and Entrepreneurship".

The aim of the project is to increase the employment capacity of the professional football players after the end of their playing career. The project will strengthen the capacity of employment athletes to develop their entrepreneurial skills and competencies.

A career in top sports is short, volatile and requires a lot of time and dedication. The most successful athletes retire around the age of 30, and then have to find a new job and a role in their lives. Even bigger problems and challenges are faced by athletes who fail as professionals and players who end their careers relatively early due to injury.

The characteristics of a sports career (short-term contracts, frequent travel, etc.), expectations for quick success and ultimate commitment to a career, make it difficult or impossible to prepare for life and career after sports.

Athletes who train and compete across Europe are faced with variety of risks. Many miss out on quality education and training that will help them prepare for a new career after retiring as athletes.

In response to a call from the European Council 2008, which raised the issue of a "double career", the European Commission is committed to providing top athletes with the skills and knowledge they need to be able to move on more easily after a sporting career.

The structure of "dual career" programs should meet the individual needs of each athlete, taking into account: age, the sport they pursue, the level of career development and financial status.

There is a similarity between an entrepreneur and a footballer. To be successful in both fields: business field and football field, you must learn to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

A person can learn what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur using a combined learning process:

• Practical approach - in your own football club

• Theoretical approach - on-line training programs.

Before the training and support materials are created, the needs and opportunities of the athletes are determined.

For this purpose, a questionnaire has been created, which you will find at the following link:

The answers to the questionnaire are anonymous.

Your opinion is very important!

Please answer the questionnaire.

The time required to do this is 15 minutes.

The project is a partnership between:

-  Football Association of Slovenia (FAS) (Slovenia)

-  Football Federation of Macedonia FFM) (Macedonia)

-  (IBM) TDM 2000 International (TDM) (Italy

-  FIBA Europe (FIBA) (Germany)

-  Caceres Chamber Commerce (CCC) (Spain)

-  EU15 (UK) & Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) (Azerbaijan)