On Monday September 14, 2026, Everton’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall arrived from Liverpool to London by a train. After arriving to the Arsenal’s stadium, he met with Cesar Azpilicueta, Taiwo Awoniyi, Fabio Borini, Angelo Ogbonna and Tim Cahill. Even though this introduction looks like a pre-game meeting or some charity match between active players and veterans, the reason for gathering was quite different. All these former and current Premier League players graduated from the PFA Business School, either to seek additional education beyond practical football knowledge or to prepare to become sporting directors in the future.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Why did Taiwo Awoniyi, Fabio Borini, Jacob Brown, and Tim Cahill sign up for the PFA Business School? 🎓 <a href="https://t.co/kRDaf2dPBk">pic.twitter.com/kRDaf2dPBk</a></p>— PFA (@PFA) <a href="https://x.com/PFA/status/2102756128602095645?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##Among them is the active Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who got his third degree."I've got a degree in business management and another diploma, so this is my third qualification. I say to people I am a quiet dreamer. I always felt education was important. It was a promise I made to my dad that if I played football, I would keep studying. That's what I have done and I am proud of it" he said to BBC Sports.Awoniyi's father, Solomon was the one who insisted on his son’s education above all else. At times it almost prevented his son from pursuing a career in football, but Awoniyi progressed from the Imperial Soccer Academy to Liverpool before making his name in German football with Union Berlin.##LINKED_NEWS_53742##Apart from the importance of education as such, Awoniyi recently suffered a serious injury and was reminded of life after football. In May 2025 when he was placed in a medically induced coma after rupturing an intestine in a collision with a goalpost when playing for Nottingham Forest against Leicester City. He could have ended his career then."It's not like a 9-5 job in football. We go in and sometimes finish quite early and, although it's challenging, I think every footballer has time in the evening for something like this business school. Of course, it demands a lot from you and it's all about how willing you are to do it. I say to people there are a lot of things that are bigger than football. Yes, football is our passion, but we are normal human beings as well and maybe that's something the world doesn't always see" explained the Nigerian.21:45: (2.20) Tamworth (3.50) Sutton United (2.95)
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