Now that’s an assist to be proud of.

Exeter City striker, Robbie Simpson has set up a recruitment platform to help ex and current athletes find employment after their career has ended. Simpson, who has worn the colours of Premier League Huddersfield Town as well as Exeter City is the mastermind behind Life After Professional Sport (LAPS).

He thinks that currently, the attitudes in football are holding lower league footballers back from talking about what to do after their sporting career has ended.

Simpson said: “People don’t want to show any fear or even talk about what will happen next after their careers are over, which needs to change. At League Two level, the reality is, after it’s over, you’re going to have to get a job almost straight away, so we need to start this conversation now and think of life after sport.”

From his own experiences, Simpson has found that many clubs don’t offer avenues to employment after the final whistle has blown on a player’s career.

He added:

“I had that fear one summer when I was out of a contract that this could be it. I had dedicated the last number of years to professional football, but I was lucky in that I had a degree at least.

“What about the people who have left school at 16 with no qualifications to dedicate themselves to football? I knew that there were transferable skills available and after linking up with a friend who works in recruitment, we set up LAPS to create a vital resource.”

And it isn’t just football, LAPS are branching out into all sports – Simpson added: “We want to inspire these men and women to think that there is absolutely a life after sport, and we are going to do everything we can to show them that there can be a fulfilling professional life after they’ve stopped as an athlete.”