Can I become a semi-pro footballer if I start at age 18?

Okay so recently I have had some time to think about my life , when I was little I always wanted to be a footballer like every other boy in England but never really played it after primary purely because I was becoming fat and cared more about gaming than sports

Fast forward many years and I'm 18, have Turned my life around and I am in the top 5 % for fitness for my bodyweight, my fitness has rocketed really to training boxing for the last 3 years but I digress

Recently I have started to play some football with some college mates and it reminded me of how much I loved football when I was a kid and since then I have been training every day for 3 hours trying to improve

I'm 100% sure its atleast 5 years too late to try and become even a division 5 professional but if I continued to train 3-6 hours a day to improve as much as I can.Could I maybe become a semi-professional footballer one day by age 22?

I have literally no history of football except primary school football days but I do have insane dedication, I went from being the fat sponge failure at my boxing gym to dominating hard sparring sessions with people with many more years experience and I would like to go professional in boxing but I dont want brain damage

The position I play is CDM by the way.

I would like realistic answers please, if you think I'm delusional then please say so

Reply 1

Surnia

20

Given your age you've missed out on the academy route so you'd need to be on an established team from where you could be scouted. However, you'd have to be pretty talented to stand out in a team that's been together a while and whom the coach knows better. Also, fitness isn't the main driver, it's footballing ability and hours of practice won't make up for the inate talent players have of being able to read the game and think ahead.

If you enjoy playing why not just apply to join a local league? Very few who want to make it do, even as a semi-professional.

Reply 2

CheeseIsVeg

22

Original post by Estiyuu

Okay so recently I have had some time to think about my life , when I was little I always wanted to be a footballer like every other boy in England but never really played it after primary purely because I was becoming fat and cared more about gaming than sports

Fast forward many years and I'm 18, have Turned my life around and I am in the top 5 % for fitness for my bodyweight, my fitness has rocketed really to training boxing for the last 3 years but I digress

Recently I have started to play some football with some college mates and it reminded me of how much I loved football when I was a kid and since then I have been training every day for 3 hours trying to improve

I'm 100% sure its atleast 5 years too late to try and become even a division 5 professional but if I continued to train 3-6 hours a day to improve as much as I can.Could I maybe become a semi-professional footballer one day by age 22?

I have literally no history of football except primary school football days but I do have insane dedication, I went from being the fat sponge failure at my boxing gym to dominating hard sparring sessions with people with many more years experience and I would like to go professional in boxing but I dont want brain damage

The position I play is CDM by the way.

I would like realistic answers please, if you think I'm delusional then please say so

Hi there

I've put your thread into the Careers sector forum for you
I hope this will get you a few more responses
Also check out the sport forum where you can find football :smile:

Best of luck,
Cheese :bump:

Reply 3

Lewis31m

9

Original post by Estiyuu

Okay so recently I have had some time to think about my life , when I was little I always wanted to be a footballer like every other boy in England but never really played it after primary purely because I was becoming fat and cared more about gaming than sports

Fast forward many years and I'm 18, have Turned my life around and I am in the top 5 % for fitness for my bodyweight, my fitness has rocketed really to training boxing for the last 3 years but I digress

Recently I have started to play some football with some college mates and it reminded me of how much I loved football when I was a kid and since then I have been training every day for 3 hours trying to improve

I'm 100% sure its atleast 5 years too late to try and become even a division 5 professional but if I continued to train 3-6 hours a day to improve as much as I can.Could I maybe become a semi-professional footballer one day by age 22?

I have literally no history of football except primary school football days but I do have insane dedication, I went from being the fat sponge failure at my boxing gym to dominating hard sparring sessions with people with many more years experience and I would like to go professional in boxing but I dont want brain damage

The position I play is CDM by the way.

I would like realistic answers please, if you think I'm delusional then please say so