TRANSFERS, MONEY AND THE SOCIAL ASPECT IN BELGIAN FOOTBALL
A SURVEY BY
AMATEUR
2012, DECEMBER
WWW.ZAMANTE.COM
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
ZAMANTE.COM IS A SOCIAL NETWORK SITE FOR EVERYONE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN FOOTBALL.
DURING THE MONTHS AUGUST, SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2012, ZAMANTE DID AN ONLINE SURVEY AMONGST AMATEUR PLAYERS ACROSS ALL BELGIAN DIVISIONS. FROM THE LOWEST REGIONAL DIVISION (4TH PROVINCIAL) TO THE HIGHEST NATIONAL LEAGUE (JUPILER PRO LEAGUE).
945 PLAYERS RESPONDED TO QUESTIONS ON SEVERAL TOPICS SUCH AS THE SOCIAL ROLE OF FOOTBALL, TRANSFERS, MONEY, COMMITMENT TO THE CLUB AND MATCHFIXING ...
THE AUDIENCE
945 PLAYERS
839 FLEMISH - 106 WALLOON
PARTICULARLY AMATEUR (NON-PROFESSIONAL)
< 2023%
20 - 2541%
26 - 3021%
31 - 359%
> 356%
5
AGE
STRIKER23,4%
MIDFIELDER34,9%
DEFENDER29,3%
KEEPER12,4%
POSITION
6
PROVINCIAL DIVISIONS (4)82%
NATIONAL DIVISIONS (4)18%
LEVEL
PROVINCIAL, 4TH
PROVINCIAL, 3TH
PROVINCIAL, 2ND
PROVINCIAL 1ST
NATIONAL, 4TH
NATIONAL, 3TH
NATIONAL, 2ND
NATIONAL, 1ST 3%
2%
4%
9%
12%
19%
25%
26%
COMMITMENT TO THE CLUB
80% OF THE PLAYERS IN NATIONAL DIVISIONS ARE WILLING TO DRIVE 30 MINUTES OR MORE TO THEIR CLUB
4 OUT OF 10 PLAYERS LIVE WITHIN A RADIUS OF 5 KILOMETERS AROUND THE CLUB
3 OUT OF 10 PLAYERS LIVE WITHIN A RADIUS OF 6 TO 15 KILOMETERS AROUND THE CLUB
DISTANCE BETWEEN HOME AND CLUB
32% IS WILLING TO PLAY AGAIN FOR THE CLUB WHERE THEY GOT THEIR FORMATION
CLUB LOYALTY
40% IS AT LEAST 3 SEASONS ACTIVE AT THEIR CURRENT CLUB
31% STILL PLAYS AT THE CLUB WHERE THEY GOT THEIR
FORMATION
LOTS OF AMBITION AMONGST FOOTBALL PLAYERS ...
ALMOST 70% THINKS THEY COULD PLAY ON A HIGHER LEVEL!
PLAYERS AMBITION
PRESTIGE IS THE MAIN CAREER GOAL FOR MOST
PLAYERSWHAT’S THE MAIN TARGET OF YOUR CAREER?
NATIONAL PROVINCIAL
PRESTIGE
3TH HALF
FITNESS
PLEASURE
MONEY
NEW FRIENDS 2%
14%
10%
19%
24%
29%
4%
19%
6%
7%
4%
56%
PRESTIGE
MONEY
71% EARNS 500 EUROS OR LESS PER MONTH
12% EARNS 1.000 EUROS OR MORE PER MONTH
NATIONAL DIVISIONS: 33% EARNS MORE THAN 1.000 EUROS PER MONTH
PROVINCIAL DIVISIONS: ONLY 8% EARNS MORE THAN 1.000 EUROS PER MONTH
EARNINGS
91% GETS A BONUS WHEN THEY WIN A MATCH
76% GETS A BONUS FOR A DRAW27% GETS A BONUS FOR A LOSS
11% GETS A BONUS FOR SIGNING THEIR CONTRACT
23,2% GETS REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES
TYPE OF REVENUES
11,5% GETS A TRAINING FEE
NATIONAL DIVISIONS: 61% GETS A FIXED FEE PER MONTH
PROVINCIAL DIVISIONS: ONLY 20% GETS A FIXED FEE PER MONTH
MONTHLY FIXED FEES
27% GETS A FIXED FEE PER MONTH
TWICE AS MUCH SIGNING FEES IN NATIONAL DIVISIONS THAN IN PROVINCIAL DIVISIONS
NATIONAL: 18% GETS A FEE FOR SIGNING THEIR CONTRACT
PROVINCIAL: ONLY 9% GETS A FEE FOR SIGNING THEIR CONTRACT
SIGNING FEES
MONEY IS NOT THE KEY DRIVER
ONLY 3,9% INDICATES THEY WOULD QUIT PLAYING IF THERE
WAS NO MORE MONEY TO BE EARNED
IF THERE WAS NO MORE MONEY INVOLVED ...
23% WOULD PLAY WITH FRIENDS
7,6% WOULD PLAY LESS FAR FROM HOME
FLANDERS 39% YESWALLOON 21% YES
WOULD YOU STAY AT THE SAME LEVEL?
FOOTBALL PLAYERS PAY MOST ATTENTION TO KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATION AND QUALITY OF THE
TRAINING
PLAYERS IN NATIONAL DIVISIONS THINK THE PRESENCE OF A PHYSIOTHERAPIST IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN PLAYERS
IN PROVINCIAL DIVISIONS
58,7% THINKS THEY GET PAID PROPERLY (ENOUGH)
13,4% THINKS THEY ARE UNDERPAID
4,2% THINKS THEY ARE OVERPAID ...
SATISFACTION
ONLY 58% WAS PAID ON TIMEALMOST 40% WAS PAID LATE ONE
MONTH OR MORE
EVEN MORE, 21,1% GOT PAID MORE THAN TWO MONTHS TO LATE
LATE PAYMENT
LAST YEAR
27% MENTIONED THEIR FORMER CLUB REFUSED TO PAY THE MISSING
AMOUNT AT THE END OF THE SEASON
PAYMENT
REFUSAL
TRANSFERS
LAST YEAR, MORE THAN 6 OUT OF 10 PLAYERS RECEIVED AN OFFER FROM ANOTHER CLUB
OFFERS
28% RESPONDED POSITIVELY TO THE OFFER AND CHANGED CLUBS
19,5% WOULD ONLY CHANGE CLUBS IF THEY CAN EARN MORE MONEY
TRANSFER
MATCHFIXING
14,5% HAS BEEN CONTACTED DIRECTLY TO FIX ONE OF THEIR MATCHES
CONTACT
27,8% OF THEM SAID YES
34,5% KNOWS ONE OR MORE PLAYERS OR COACHES WHO HAVE BEEN CONTACTED TO FIX
MATCHES
AWARENESS