Romania's footballers no longer braindead

Published on 17 June 2009 at 13:06

"The cliché of the brain-dead soccer player may soon be a thing of the past!" exults Romanian international captain Cristi Chivu. As honorary president of AFAN ( Romanian Association of Amateur and Professional Football Players ) the Inter Milan central defender is overjoyed by the news that the Romanian government is providing financial support for the association's "Social security and on-the-job training for athletes" program. Notwithstanding the economic crisis, AFAN stands to obtain nearly half a million euros from the Ministry for Youth and Sports. According to Bucharest daily Cotidianul, the organization is planning to use 5 millions euros of its own funds and additional money from the EU, to "send footballers to school." AFAN's "on-line university will enable players to study marketing, economics and management."

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