Ensure your CV format is structured to best highlight your unique experience and life situation.
Football CV template (text format)
PERSONAL PROFILE
Dedicated, physically fit, and creative footballer committed to helping the team reach its season’s objectives, winning trophies, and upholding the team’s historical legacy. Demonstrate commitment to rigorous training regimes, resulting in a career-high of 13 goals last season. Leverage soft skills like empathy and active listening in coaching young academy team substitutes and fringe players aiming for a permanent place in their team’s first eleven.
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
Midfielder | December 2019 – Present
NEWPORT COUNTY, Newport, Wales
- Created 59 big chances in debut season, 20% higher than previous personal high
- Average 3 successful crosses a game and came out third for goal threat last season according to Opta Stats
- Manage U-21 substitute players, updating them on passing and positioning in different formations
- Earned the ‘Big Game Player’ tag after scoring in team’s last three finals
- Voted ‘Most Valuable Player of the Season’ in second year
- Communicate non-verbally with teammates, helping them avoid offside traps
Midfielder | May 2017 – November 2019
MACCLESFIELD TOWN, Macclesfield
- Helped the team to a league title win in debut season, scoring 8 goals and managing 6 assists in the process
- Recognised as the league’s best left back for the 2018-19 season
- Participated in 8 charity and fundraiser matches over 3 seasons
- Scored a brace in the final and deciding match of the season, including the winning goal
- Participated in jingles and ads that increased the club’s social media following by 80%
- Commended by club president for vital role played in manager’s gegenpressing formation
Midfielder | May 2015 – March 2017
POOLE TOWNE, Dorset
- Took set pieces within the opponent’s half, converting 45%
- Helped Poole Town to the 2015 league title with 10 assists
- Kept 10 clean sheets on home turf in second season at the club
- Recognised as the Team’s Best Player of the Month for three consecutive months in 2017-18 season
- Paired with centre back in defence in the case of lost balls, and poured forward in counter-attacks in the manager’s unique fluid formation
CAREER STATISTICS
- Goals: 31
- Shots: 104
- Assists: 43
- Pass completion: 84.6%
- PK: 10
EDUCATION
University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath (2015-2018)
Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Sports Science, Upper second-class honours (2:1)
- Relevant Modules: Sports Management, Marketing and Media, Nutrition and Metabolism, Physiology of Exercise, Health and Nutrition, Applied Sport Biomechanics
Cats College, Canterbury, Kent (2006-2013
- A-levels: Maths (A), French (A), English Literature (A)
- GCSEs: 10 A-C including Maths, Biology, and Physical and Health Education
AWARDS
- EFL League Two MVP
- Poole Towne Best Player of the Month (3x)
KEY SKILLS
- Team leadership
- Creativity
- Interpersonal communication
- Touch and ball control
- Quick decision making
- Sports management
INTERESTS
- Skating
- Dogwalking
- Learning new languages
- Music
- Dancing
Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.
7 mistakes to avoid if you want to be a pro footballer
Oskar Jansson runs through the seven mistakes you need to avoid if you’re aspiring to a career on the footie field:
How to write a football CV
If you’re sending your career highlight reel out to football clubs, you’ll need to find a way to stand out from other players with similar skill sets. One way to do that is by including a CV that gives managers and scouts a summary of your top on- and off-the-field football skills and experience.
Here are three tips for writing a football CV that gets you on the pitch faster:
1. Use a professional layout for your football CV
Even though you’re not applying to a traditional office job, you should use a professional CV layout with the following sections:
- Header: your name and contact information
- Personal profile: a summary of the main reasons you believe you should be selected
- Playing experience section: a list of your current and past clubs and your top career accomplishments
- Extra sections: Lists of other relevant information, such as your key skills, statistics, physical attributes, and community involvement
Your CV header and personal profile should always come at the top of your football CV. But you can change the order of your other sections based on the role you’re applying for and what stage of your career you’re in.
For instance, if you’re early in your playing career and don’t have many on-pitch results to showcase, place your skills and physical attributes sections immediately after your personal profile. But if you’ve been playing awhile, emphasise your playing experience section by moving it to the top spot.
Choose an easy-to-read font for your CV to help recruiters quickly find your best football skills.
2. Write a standout personal profile
Coaches and scouts are always busy preparing for their next match, so your CV should get their attention right away — otherwise, they may stop reading and go back to match planning. So put your most relevant football skills and experience in a 3–5 sentence personal profile at the top of your CV.
Your football CV’s personal profile (also called a personal statement) should only include the information most likely to get the club interested in you. To ensure your profile does that, research your target club by:
- reading what the sports press is saying about them
- studying their roster to determine how you could best contribute
- talking to other players you know who’ve played for the coach or club
Then, explain how you’d be a great fit in your football CV’s personal profile. For instance, if you learn that the club needs veteran leadership in the locker room, highlight your experience leading behind the scenes.
Here’s an example of a well-written personal profile for a football CV:
3. Highlight your best football statistics
When you write your CV’s work experience section, include your most outstanding football statistics. Adding your stats to your CV gives coaches a specific idea of how you’ll fit into their club’s schemes if they sign you.
Even if your stats are easy to find on sports websites, put them on your football CV. Don’t assume coaches will go searching for them.
Here’s an example of an unspecific playing experience bullet point that won’t make coaches interested in the applicant:
Unspecific
- Accurate passer with a knack for finding the back of the net on my own shots
And here’s how the above bullet point can be rewritten to include specific numbers that show coaches exactly what the applicant can do for them on the pitch:
Specific
- Achieved a career-high 87.5 pass completion percentage and led my club with 15 goals scored
So describe your accomplishments with numbers to prove you have the football skills the club needs.
Football players don’t have a lot of time between finding a new team and practising their moves. Save time by using an online CV maker, and have your finished CV in just a few minutes — and use a cover letter builder to create a goal-scoring cover letter.