Beyond the final whistle: Designing sustainable athlete pathways to overcome a silent crisis

Most elite sporting careers last fewer than ten years, with many athletes retiring around age 34. In high-intensity disciplines such as professional football, research shows that African players often follow a rapid trajectory: development in their late teens, a peak around age 24, and a noticeable decline in performance and market value from age 25 onwards. 

Behind these numbers lie deeper structural realities: economic pressure that forces athletes to succeed early, limited access to sports science and medical care, and in some contexts record-keeping challenges such as age fraud. The result is that thousands of African athletes must reinvent their lives by their mid-thirties, often without education, savings, or professional networks beyond sport. 

This is the silent crisis of African sport on transition. 

I have witnessed both the brilliance of African athletes and the fragility of the systems around them. Too many programmes are designed for short-term performance rather than lifelong welfare. When the final whistle blows, the ecosystem frequently walks away.

The cost of short-term thinking

When I interact with the development structures across the continent, there is a pattern of narrow pipelines aimed at producing immediate results in transfers, medals, or league success. Contracts reward performance while ignoring education, financial literacy, and mental health. Injuries or loss of form can end careers overnight, yet few academies, clubs or federations provide structured alternatives.

On this front, we fail our athletes and it paints a picture of governance failure. Sport is labour, and athletes are workers with rights that should outlive their playing days. Sustainable programmes must therefore be built on a duty of care that stretches from academy entry to post-retirement reintegration.

What a sustainable pathway looks like

From my advisory work, the first pillar of a sustainable pathway for athletes is dual-career planning. Education and vocational skills must run parallel to training. Digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and coaching badges should be embedded within academies. Organisations should partner with universities and technical institutes so that a 28-year-old retiring player can still enter the workforce with confidence and credentials.

The second pillar is financial protection. Transparent contracts, insurance, pension mechanisms, and basic investment education should be standard. It is imperative for athletes to be under the care of agencies that look out for their welfare and be exposed to environments that educate them on financial literacy. Sports industry players should embrace tools that allow athletes to monitor earnings, image rights, and career milestones, reducing exploitation and improving long-term planning.

Thirdly, mental and social welfare where safeguarding frameworks, counselling, and career-transition services must be embraced by the sporting community. An athlete who feels protected performs better and remains an asset to the industry long after competition.

Lawyer and agent roles in reshaping sport

Legal professionals and agents sit at the centre of this necessary redesign. Modern athlete agreements should move beyond performance and remuneration to include education guarantees, medical and insurance protections, and structured post-career support. Equally, licensing regimes for academies and clubs must evolve to demand credible welfare programmes. Access to independent arbitration and affordable legal aid is essential so that athletes are not voiceless when disputes arise and can enforce their rights with dignity. 

Embedding these safeguards within contracts and regulatory frameworks is no longer optional; it is the foundation of responsible, sustainable sport.

Opportunity in a growing market

Africa’s sports economy is expanding through media rights, technology, and youthful demographics. This growth will generate roles in analytics, governance, coaching, event management, and entrepreneurship. 

Success in African sport cannot be measured only by trophies or transfers. It must be measured by how many former athletes become coaches, administrators, innovators, and community leaders. Governments, federations, investors, and lawyers must collaborate to build structures where welfare is inseparable from performance.

The whistle should mark the end of a match, not the end of opportunity. 

If we design pathways that educate, protect, and transition our athletes, Africa will export not only talent but leadership and finally honour the human being behind the player.

Gordon Gogo Ouma, ACIArb is a Kenyan advocate who advises on litigation, sports business, athlete management, implementing AI strategies, and governance. He is the founder of GMA Global Sports and Business, and co-founder of Afritech Sports Technology and Innovation Group