It's okay to change career path – I went from coaching to working in footie finance

From player pay packets to ticket sales and matchday merch to general club running costs, there's lots of money in football. This means clubs need people who work within finance departments, keeping an eye on cash coming in and going out.

Jay is one of these people. He works at Port Vale Football Club as a finance assistant. His tasks across both the club and its charity, the Port Vale Foundation, involve checking invoices (documents that detail money needing to be paid), data entry, and finance reporting.

Working at Port Vale helps me to combine both passions of finance and football in my career.

• Grew up loving football and was a ball boy at Port Vale FC matches
• Always enjoyed maths and working with numbers at school
• Left school and began a coaching apprenticeship, which involved coaching in local schools
• Realised that coaching wasn’t quite right for him, so considered his options
• Took advice from his mentors at Port Vale, and took on a Business Administration apprenticeship
• Started working with the accounts team at Port Vale, working with both the club and the club’s foundation
• Completed his Level 2 AAT qualification – an entry-level professional qualification in finance administration and accounting skills
• Working towards the next levels of AAT qualifications.

There are lots of ways to progress in football finance. Jay works in Port Vale's finance team as a finance assistant. His pathway so far has been:

Apprentice --> assistant role

Some other ways to progress in finance roles include becoming a junior accountant, finance manager or financial controller.

One way Jay thinks he might want to progress is to eventually move into a Director of Football role. Responsibilities vary between clubs, but this can involve managing budgets for player transfers.

• Be organised and pay attention to detail: Paying attention to the small details will help you build trust and become someone people can rely on
• Get as much experience as possible: Whether it’s work experience, an apprenticeship or an entry-level role, getting into a finance environment and learning how it works is one of the best ways to build your skills
• Keep learning and asking questions: Every day is a chance to pick up new skills. The more you understand about finance and how a business works, the more opportunities you’ll have to progress in your career.

Finance assistants keep a business running smoothly by managing important tasks like processing invoices and maintaining accurate records. Salaries in finance roles depend on your experience and the qualifications you take to move up to higher levels.

The Office for National Statistics collects data on people's working hours and earnings in the UK. According to their 2025 data, the median annual salary for full-employees in administrative financial roles is just under £31,000.

Bitesize Careers, in partnership with The Open University, has launched the Follow Your Passion campaign, exploring how you can draw on your passions and interests to find your future jobs, with the focus on football.

From content creation to computer game design, nutrition to number-crunching, check out the Bitesize Careers Follow Your Passion collection for loads of inspiring careers content.