Professional help for amateur football

Less than 1% of the people who play football do so professionally. The amateur game represents 99% of those involved in and passionate about the world’s most popular game, making it the real global phenonemon. In Slovakia, this recognition has given rise to BE-PRO, a unique service that brings together players, clubs and others involved in amateur football. The service works much like an online dating service for football, creating a virtual space where players, clubs and officials can connect.

“The project has been up and running for five years now,” one of the co-founders, Andrej Kalina, explains. “It works on the principle of supply and demand. Players look for clubs, and clubs look for players – that’s the basic premise. On the one hand, players can choose from a variety of clubs, and on the other hand clubs can see what players are available. We’re talking about amateur football, so it’s free to post ads. There’s nothing to lose, for players or clubs. Both sides can only benefit from using BE-PRO.”

The services available on BE-PRO are not only for players and clubs, but also for coaches, masseurs, doctors, physios, fitness coaches and club officials, all of whom can post their biographies and CVs to raise their profiles within the game and connect with clubs. Beyond the primary function of informing and connecting people and clubs, the aim of BE-PRO is to create a community of football lovers, so the website also gives users an opportunity to chat about tickets, matches and tours, and exchange other information of mutual interest.

The BE-PRO database now has 5,444 users and has facilitated hundreds of transfers within Slovakia and even abroad, especially after the website’s relaunch this winter. BE-PRO’s supporters include big names in Slovakian football past and present, such as Filip Šebo, Juraj Halenár and the national team’s all-time leading goalscorer, Róbert Vittek. The new platform has a fresh, new look and new functionalities, and there are currently more than 200 open ads, from players, coaching staff and others looking for clubs, and vice versa.  

This article originally appeared in UEFA Direct No168