The likely demise of Gold Coast United at season’s end has cast a dark shadow over the A-League, but whilst the competition will eventually move on, many of the club’s players may not have the same opportunity and the league will be poorer for their absence.
For Gold Coast players, the past fortnight will have been a nightmare, with the majority of the squad’s professional careers in limbo.
Whilst many have age on their side, the death of the North Queensland Fury highlighted the difficulties players’ can face when a large group are trying to find a new club in a league where employment opportunities are limited.
When the Fury folded, just seven of the 23 contracted players managed to find a new club in the A-League, with the majority forced to return to state leagues.
Due to squad and salary cap restrictions many of the Gold Coast players will also be forced to step down to state league competitions.
This will no doubt be difficult, but it is not just their professional careers that could suffer.
Many will have spent their lives working towards the goal of becoming professional footballers and rightly or wrongly neglected other potential vocations.
Not only will they be forced to consider new careers, they will also have to adjust to life without professional football.
Most players are constantly working towards improving their game with their whole lives, and often their families, centred on the weekend’s match.
Take this away and many will feel as if they are no longer the same person as their identity is very much tied to football.
Some may suggest that like much of the population they will simply have to get on with things as not everyone will live out their dreams.
This is no doubt true.
But the fact that many are also not doing what they love is unlikely to be comforting.
Players will also have to come to terms with the death of their club. Many of the club’s players have emerged from the youth team and will no doubt feel deeply connected to it.
Whilst the current crop of players will be instantly affected by the fate of the Gold Coast the league will not escape unharmed. There will be 23 less opportunities in professional football in Australia and the talent pool will be diluted at a time when the national team is calling out for young blood.
Gold Coast could play a major role in developing the next generation of Socceroos as they have been one of the league’s most successful clubs in developing players in their youth team and then successfully moving them into the first team.
There is also the impact it will have on luring the best possible players to the competition.
How many players will be eager to come to a competition that in the past two seasons has seen two clubs fold and many players lose their jobs? Few who have other options.
The most disappointing aspect of this is that it is not because of a poor playing standard or low wages but rather contract security, something that the sport was meant to have dealt with when the A-League was established.
Gold Cost may not have been a success off the pitch but this will offer little comfort to players and staff who may soon be out of work through no fault of their own. Those who have played a role in the demise of the club will walk away leaving those who are innocent to pay the price for their mismanagement.
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