Awoniyi, Dewsbury-Hall Among Footballers Preparing for Life Beyond the Pitch

Professional footballers are increasingly investing in education as they prepare for careers beyond playing, with Taiwo Awoniyi, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and César Azpilicueta among those pursuing qualifications in football management and sporting direction.

The trend was highlighted at the 2026 PFA Business School graduation ceremony held at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, where current and former players celebrated completing their studies alongside their football careers.

According to BBC Sport, Coventry City striker Awoniyi and Everton midfielder Dewsbury-Hall were among the graduates, while former Chelsea and Spain captain Azpilicueta also attended the ceremony.

Dewsbury-Hall, 28, travelled from Merseyside to London after completing a postgraduate diploma in global football sport directorship.

The former Leicester City and Chelsea midfielder said he wanted to continue developing himself away from football while he still had several years left in his playing career.

“As a person, I’m always trying to learn and develop away from the pitch,” Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport. “I don’t want to stop playing and then just sit around doing nothing.”

For Awoniyi, education has been a priority since childhood in Nigeria. The Coventry striker already holds a degree in business management and another diploma, making the PFA qualification his third academic achievement.

He said his father, Solomon, always stressed the importance of education and made it clear that football should not come at the expense of his studies.

“I always felt education was important,” Awoniyi said. “It was a promise I made to my dad that if I played football, I would keep studying. That’s what I have done, and I am proud of it.”

Awoniyi’s career has taken him from the Imperial Soccer Academy in Nigeria to Liverpool and German football with Union Berlin before establishing himself in the Premier League.

Despite the demands of professional football, the 29-year-old believes players can still make time for education because their careers do not necessarily follow a traditional nine-to-five routine.

“Yes, football is our passion, but we are normal human beings as well, and maybe that’s something the world doesn’t always see,” he said.

Azpilicueta has also combined education with an elite playing career. The former Spain international began studying before turning professional with Osasuna at 17 and later completed an MBA at Harvard University during his nine-year spell at Chelsea.

His studies even provided a distraction from the pressure surrounding the 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City in Porto. Chelsea won 1-0, with Azpilicueta lifting the trophy as captain.

“Having my studies also helped me focus and improve myself away from football,” he said.

Now retired after spells with Atlético Madrid and Sevilla, Azpilicueta believes education should not only be viewed as preparation for retirement.

“It’s not only about preparing for life after football,” he said. “It’s about becoming a better version of yourself in your football career as well.”

The PFA Business School programme allows players to study alongside their professional commitments, with seminars arranged to minimise clashes with training and matches and coursework completed in their own time.

Dewsbury-Hall said he has even attracted curious looks while studying on his iPad during journeys home from away matches.

Former Bournemouth captain Steve Cook is another graduate who used the programme to return to formal education after his school years. Having already earned coaching qualifications, Cook is now approaching the latter stages of his playing career.

While the graduates have different ambitions, their qualifications could open doors to roles as coaches, executives and sporting directors.

For Awoniyi, Dewsbury-Hall, Azpilicueta and their fellow graduates, the lesson extends beyond football: a professional career does not have to end when the playing career does.