Rethinking dual careers: success factors for career transition of professional football players and the role of sport entrepreneurship

Purpose The purpose of this longitudinal study is to examine the dual career and entrepreneurial experiences of professional football players and their influence on the career transition process to entrepreneurship or employment. Design/methodology/approach The study examined a Portuguese employer-employee data set from 1991 to 2017 using the logit model, a binary choice regression model that allows predicting the probabilities of two possible qualitative and binary outcomes. Findings Entrepreneurial experience is the key driver for retired football players to pursue entrepreneurship. Having a dual career and working during the athletic career leads to higher chances of continuing in the labor market as an employee. Higher education levels did not significantly influence the decision to pursue a second career but having secondary education increases the chances of continuing as an entrepreneur. Research limitations/implications First, the study aims to shed light on success factors in career transition of professional football players who engage in a dual career. Second, the authors introduce sport entrepreneurship as a possible activity alongside an athletic career. Practical implications Athletes can benefit from the experience they gain during a dual career in the process of career transition. Working in the final year of an athletic career represents a promising strategy to gain work experience alongside sport without jeopardizing sporting success. Originality/value This study adds evidence to the contemporary discourse on dual career theory and career transitions and reconciles the theory of sport entrepreneurship and dual careers.