The Backroom Staff - TBS Grants

TBS Grants

I’m giving away €1,000 each to 3 people to do something meaningful in football. No strings attached.

Full information on thebackroomstaff.com 

[ Why? ]

Over the past year, I’ve interviewed 68 people from 50 countries working in football. Some have already achieved incredible things, many are just starting their careers.

Across all these interviews, easily the most repeated line has been some version of 'who you know is more important than what you know'.

Over 50% of interviewees have - or do - worked for free!

Many have had to turn down opportunities for financial reasons.

Networks, credentialism, finances and bias restrict thousands of talented people around the world from pursuing their passion in the world's most popular sport.

I’m certain that these barriers (which have nothing to do with skill or commitment) result in football missing out on many of its best talents.

This matters to me not just because I ‘like football’. For billions of people around the world, football is more than ‘just a game’ or ‘entertainment’. In the oft-repeated words of Gary Kleiban, “it transcends and touches humans from all walks of life. It’s inextricably entangled with politics, culture and economics”.

Today, thousands of people with the potential to make a meaningful, positive impact on football, their community, society - and their own lives - don’t start - or can’t continue - because of these barriers.

I know €1,000 isn’t enough to ‘solve’ this problem (I’m not that delusional) but I hope - and believe - that for a few people, this can serve as belief and a small buffer to get started - or keep going.

So, I’m starting a small experiment: TBS Grants - no strings attached microgrants to start or advance your career in football.

I'm open to anything as long as it's meaningful to you - and €1,000 might help. Some examples are :

• course / certification / school fees

• travel costs for trials/interviews

• community initiatives

• organizing events

• equipment or technology (e.g. an aspiring scout may benefit from a laptop or a Wyscout subscription)

Applications are open now until August 31. —> Apply here.

If this experiment is successful (mainly, are people interested and if it seems like it’s making a positive impact), I’d like to make this a regular thing.

If you'd like to help make that happen - by contributing, sponsoring, or just brainstorming ideas - please reach out.

Thanks for reading - and if you know someone who might benefit, please pass this along!

-Nik

p.s. interviews will of course continue as usual!