Jobs4Football meets Michele Di Mascio

Player care is one of the fastest growing industries in football, as clubs seek to look after the well-being of players off the pitch in order to create an environment where they are best placed to perform on a match day.

There have been countless stories over the years of players who have struggled at certain clubs for reasons away from the football pitch, as a result of this teams from across the globe have started hiring specialists to help players with any issues they may face in their day-to-day lives.

Jobs4Football spoke to Head of Player Care at Sunderland AFC, Michele Di Mascio, to discuss his role in more detail.

He said: “In my role I would say there are four main sections, the first of which being the induction, so when new players join the club at any point. My job is to make sure the boys are brought into the football club as well as possible and make the transition for them as easy as possible, in terms of housing, family and just generally feeling comfortable.

“The biggest chunk of my role is obviously with the current players who are at the club daily. So this includes things like helping players with personal development, life skills, planning for the future and so on. I also do a lot of one-on-one stuff, certainly with the older ages, just having a general chat and making sure they are doing well and if there is any way we can help with their passions or hobbies away from football then we try and do so.

“An example of this is we currently have an U23s player who expressed an interest in writing and reading, so he has ended up having his own blog in the matchday programme. That’s just one example of how we can try to develop their skills and interests and again just links back to making them feel as comfortable as possible.

“The third part is the exit, so when a player leaves for whatever reason. This is probably the hardest part of my role because the transition out can be a little more complex, but again we try and support them in any way possible to make sure it’s a smooth transition for them.

“Then the last section will just be focused on making sure that we are supporting and encouraging the boys and making sure their well-being is looked after.”

There are a number of reasons as to why a certain player may not be performing to the best off his ability, but the introduction of player care means additional support is available to them, and as The Player Care Group state, it can help ‘reduce an organisation’s financial risk by ensuring players have the best chance of succeeding by settling them in as quick as possible.’

Before his current role, Di Mascio was Assistant Head of Education and Welfare at the club for nearly three years. This season is his sixth with the North East team, and along with his experience at Sunderland, Di Mascio has also obtained a Bachelor of Science in Sports and Exercise, a PGCE in Education and a PhD in Sport Physiology.

When discussing some of the typical problems that players go through, Di Mascio said: “There's a lot of things, homesickness is a big one but then also things like missing family, missing their social group, going back to their house and not having anything to do etc.

“COVID was obviously a difficult and unusual time for so many of us, especially those who were away from their families during this time. My job was just to help the boys through it in any way I could, we would often do ZOOM meetings just to check up on everyone and make sure they were doing well and staying active.”

He is now approaching his third year in the role, but what would Di Mascio’s advice be for someone if they are to succeed in the position?

“Number one is communication; I think that's very obvious. What I mean by that is don't just have good communication, but also have the ability to adapt because players are all different. Another one is problem solving and being able to deal with different kinds of problems that might arise, but also making sure that there are solutions before they go elsewhere.

“Another thing I would emphasise is be real. Don’t just be someone that is constantly trying to impress people because you’ll be found out, so I would just say be honest with the people and players you are working with, and they will give the same back to you.”

As well as his work for Sunderland, Di Mascio has also contributed to 12 publications related to physical performance metrics in football whilst also delivering sessions to the Football League in regard to player care, and he hopes to expand on his work in the future.

“Firstly, I would really like to nail what I do here at Sunderland, I would like to see a club wide structure put in place, so that is the next step for me to really show how important this area is.

“I would like to oversee a club wide player care department, that’s my target over the next couple of years.”