Whoever disliked this video was the coach’s son that always got picked

Nepotism exists in every walk of life. It’s why I’m happy that I’m no longer working in an office where the bosses sons were fast tracked into positions of power.

Don’t forget how Ali Dia got a game just by saying he was George Weah’s cousin - even fake nepotism is a thing! 😂

Is not just a football issue, music, film and celeb culture is rife with it.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” That’s one thing I’ve learnt in the world of work since I left school 12 years ago.

If it wasn’t for agents Choupo-Moting wouldnt have managed to get from Stoke to PSG and then to Bayern

I'm pretty sure every facet of human civilization has a nepotism problem, not just football.

Gotta hand it to Diego Simeone who has resisted the temptation to sign his son Giovanni to Atletico madrid. With all due respect to his son who seems a skillful enough forward in his own right, however his output in terms of goals scored has followed a pattern of being decent in the first season and then trailing progressively the next season. It doesn’t seem like he’s been pulling up any trees and on merit would not have elbowed out Griezmann or Suarez for a starting place. And before somebody points it out, yes I’m aware that his dad brought him into the river plate youth setup when he was appointed head coach there but since then he’s not followed his dad and has forged his own path. And I can respect that a lot more than a mediocre player who gets given a squad place at a top team ahead of a player more deserving in terms of ability and suitability to the needs of the team.

You know nepotism is rife in football when Jack Sullivan (the son of West Ham joint chairman David) is running the Womens club (who are currently battling relegation)

During Ferguson's reign at Manchester United there was also a player called Oliver Gill, who was the son of the Chief Executive, David Gill. He was promoted in to the first team but had 0 appearances for the Red Devils and retired from football at the age of 20 to go to University.

The son-in-law of former FIFA President João Havelange, Ricardo Teixeria, was president of the CBF for more than a decade and his granddaughter was part of the organizing committee for the 2014 World Cup. But I'm sure it was all because of their talent.

Nepotism is human nature. We favour family and friends that we know and are similar too. We just crucify those that do it when they have power but accept it when it's us doing it. "Everyone draws the line just beyond what they themselves are doing" - unknown

When Carlo came in and it was announced Davide would be his assistant, I was hesitant and a bit unsure. It turns out he does all the set piece work for us and we have been very good at them this season. Not nepotism, he’s just good at what he does and Carlo trusts him.

In Africa it's like a ocean of nepotism and they won't even try to deny or hide.

For a more serious comment, nepotism is in every field. From the moment I left high school, I was told it’s important to study, but it’s even more important to network. It’s not about what you know, it’s who you know. Should it be that way? A strong case could be made for yes and no. As HITC said, for every good case, there’s probably 5-6 bad ones.

Eden Hazard and Gianluigi Donnarumma demanded that Chelsea and AC Milan sign their brothers as a part of their deal.

Day 16: Best 7 Caribbean Footballers of all time. (Had to either play for a Caribbean Nation or be born in the Caribbean and be uncapped)

At Brighton we had a youth coach who went on to be a manager during this time we had three of his family who came through the youth and were signed by him' Hinshelwood era; 2 of his nephews and his son (edit two through the youth one signed)

I was kicked off my team after our first training session where it took well over 40 shots to get past me because the teams chairman’s son forgot to register and even though I was already registered and clearly good enough for the team they kicked me off. Not playing now this season and I just feel so depressed all the time. Thank you for your videos though, I listen to them every afternoon here in Australia and it really helps me. Sadly most teams in my country only really accept the people who are Greek or Macedonian and because I’m German/American I’ve always been mistreated and forgotten.

That's why I respect Simone who said he would never sign his son

Day 20: Rank all CR7’s strike partners. Since waited for a while now, I came up with two more. One club man XI with current players only. 7 players with most own goals who plays in TOP 5 leagues right now.

I think nepotism is something even the fans take part in. I personally got excited when I heard Dennis Bergkamp's son was on trial with Arsenal. Surely he will follow his dads footsteps and be a massive hit! Well, I guess not.

Great video, I find is especially interesting when players include their siblings in their deals such a odd ask (Hazard, Donnarouma etc)

It exists from the earliest of ages when your Saturday football team has a kid who can’t run, wears big glasses and picks the ball up mid play and your manager is telling him (his son) he’s playing really well.

at least simeone isnt nepotistic, he said he cant talk about his son, because he is another teams player

This was a great watch dude, well done

Love these kind of videos 👌🏾👌🏾 top work

Fantastic video Alf. I'd love to see a 'job for the boys' series, because you'd definitely need more than one video to cover that

Love the long, meandering intros, I was actually confused that it was the wrong video, 😂. Lobe the content. Remember the rangers video on the 15th May

When we were kids, my dad was our football manager and he ripped me to shreds. He was way harsher on me than on anyone else haha

Great video. Honestly, as others have pointed out, this is an issue across society as a whole. Most positions and opportunities in the world go to those whom have personal connections or failing that, because their "face fits". I'm glad you realised that meritocracy doesn't really exist in our society.

Great work as usual Alfie 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Great video, great analysis!

I Played with Charlie Savage and Harvey Neville (Robbie Savage and Phil Neville’s sons) and they were good players don’t get me wrong, but there were so many better players who struggled to even make academy level. They both play for United U18s now and have professional contracts. So yeah, what I’m trying to say is football definitely has a nepotism problem.

Amazing video! I can tell you worked hard on it!

One of the best videos you've ever made

Good video. One of the best so far.

I have to say, this is my new favourite football channl. Been binge watching all your videos. Love your work. Keep it up bro!:D

The fact that all 3 hazard brothers at some point played for chelsea still shocks me to this day (well, 2 of them at least had the skill, even if thorgen was never given any chances, but i assume he would be a good squad player with his current abilities for like a FA Cup match or a 6th CL group match against some greek team)

Bravo! Very well written and a topic you didn't need to touch. Nice job

You always ask the right questions and you present a well balanced, well informed insight regardless of your personal view and opinions

Best video yet. Keep making content like this.

Balanced and informative as usual. Well done.

The saying goes: it doesn't matter what you know, but who you know.

Great video. I hope people watch it till the end, the last few minutes was a fantastic conclusion. Football is always gonna reflect society, it's been a microcosm for the longest time. Those with power always decide where it disseminates.

Purely on the pitch (not talking about gifting jobs etc. in the silhouettes which definitely a real thing) football is probably the purest form of meritocracy because only the best make it out on the pitch on a consistent basis. You can't cheat results. As the son of a famous footballer you will most definitely get an easier shot at the top leagues like Enzo Zidane or Daniel Maldini, but if you do not have the skills and consistency to churn out results like Federico Chiesa or Erling Haaland, then you will fade back to the lower leagues sooner or later. There's an interesting exception though I can think of though which is quite disgusting. The contract of Gianluigi Donnarumma had in it that Milan had to sign his brother Antonio Donnarumma as a keeper too. This means that he got a contract in the first team purely due to nepotism, and it's a position where pitch results don't matter because they don't exist. Antonio gets the comfy position of a third choice keeper over someone else no matter how bad or good he is.

Definitely think you should do some more videos on this topic!

Another interesting video Alfie!

This video was very well done!

This was a great video, I don’t have much else to say

I thought I was first but people have a full time camping job in the comments

A good example of nepotism in football is when Danny Blind kept picking his son Daley Blind for the Netherlands National Team. He wasn't good enough at time, coasting on the beautiful pass to Van Persie against Spain in 2014. Only recently, I would argue he should be in the team.

Very good topic coverage.

Brilliant video follow up on owners would be cool!! Wish you had a blog too?? Thanks brilliant content

We need a part 2. This is interesting

Very well researched video 👏🏻

I did wonder if you would mention the McKays - they're a somewhat more obscure example, but a great one nonetheless. Willie was also heavily involved at Doncaster Rovers for a short period, although his sons had been there for some time already. They attended the local Independent School Hill House. In all fairness, Jack in particular was superb at youth level. Willie’s time at Rovers has become known locally as "The Experiment", which would make for a great documentary topic.

Immensely disappointed that Ali Dia the alleged cousin to George Weah and the legendary Southampton signing didn’t get at least an honorable mention!

Love these style of videos! “ there is nothing more helpless than a rich mans child” 🤣

Alfie, could you do a video about Sheffield Wednesday and what has happened since Dejphon Chansiri bought the club?

Good vid, Alfie. Good journalism

This video reminded of the anger I felt when Ramon Diaz accommodated his sons at River Plate in 2013-2014. You could tell those guys weren't doing anything.

Very well done video 👏🏿

It's human nature to help your kids if you are a parent. It's also human nature to hire people you know or kind of know vs. a total stranger who looks great on their c.v. and has excellent references.

My club dundalk fc owner Matt hullsizer appointed his dad who’s never worked in football to be our chairman and is trying to overpower the manager on lineups tactics and wanted a phone on the sideline so he could interfere with tactics

Indeed! Not just by relative and friends, but by name and background. It happened to me in my life of amateur football.

Day 45: 7 worst players who scored a hattrick in either the premier or champions league

Amazing video, Alfie

Masterpiece. As someone who enjoys both politics and football this hit home really nicely.

An absolutely fantastic video.

Nepotism has been happening since the dawn of mankind and it will continue till the twilight, it's human nature (for most) to look out for family.

When this opened up with a discussion about agents, I had to Google nepotism to make sure it still meant what I understood it to mean. Glad I stuck it out 😂

It’s frustrating for someone trying to make their own way into an industry where there’s people who essentially got there as a birthright. From a parental perspective you would want your kids to be the ones getting the best opportunities. I think most would it’s natural to want success for your own, regardless of if there’s someone more deserving. I can confidently say if I was a manager or involved with a club, I’d have my nephews in the academy if they wanted to be footballers.

I remember Anthony Pulis as he started out at Pompey when his dad was the manager there.

Don't forget Odegaard's dad, who was a 'youth trainer' at Real Madrid with no experience whatsoever :)

this is even happening at my local club, northampton town. sean dyche's son max was given a pro and even started league one games even though there are many more talented players than him

I'd argue that having a family member as an assistant manager is probably fine, some families have that dynamic and can bounce off one another, when it happens with players though it's a lot worse because that's more directly affecting another players career (potentially)

its part of life. my friends lil brother wants to become a coach and got his badges/certificates but just couldnt get a real chance so was just coaching lil kids. so my friend asked a mutual friend if he has contacts back home and he said he actually knows one of the more well known players from that country or some high ranking official from their FA and said that he will see if he can do anything to help out. but then covid happened so nothing came of it (at least for now). not gon lie, if its sth like this then i got no problems with it cuz in the end, most ppl just want a chance and as long as thats about the extent of things, then i feel like its reasonable, like as long as someone clearly better isnt shoved out of the way in order for that to happen

This is very true and very prevalent at smaller countries.

Great video. Clear nepotism, unsurprising in a highly competitive industry awash with money and power

This is topic i start at bar last night. Spot on

When I saw the title I thought: “yeah, but probably not as bad as I think it is” Turns out it is much worse than I thought

Hey Alfie! I would love it if you could make a video about AZ Alkmaar, the club is mostly based on developing youngsters and buying players for not much and selling them with big profit. Would absolutely love it if you could do it. I’ll keep commenting this until you will notice my comment🥲

Very interesting video. I always assumed that nepotism wouldn't greatly benefit a player as they would eventually get found out when they actually play and their true ability is gauged. It seems though that managers have been able to sign their sons to clubs just to make up the numbers without attracting too much negative attention.

Fantastic video Alfie! On a crazy note it would be nice to see a video on Ali Ria's fraudulent run under Graeme Sounds. A very interesting video idea

This is a pretty comprehensive analysis as long as i can see, mostly on the parameters that nepotism it's not an exclusive ailment to the sport (Like saying "there's nepotism in showbusiness", "there's nepotism in motorsport", "there's nepotism in business", etc, etc), neither it's an encapsulated problem to solve (There's nepotism in football, yes, like there's racism in football, there's corruption in football, there's political influence in football, because football is not a bubble in society and has a relation with these issues). This is not a justification, but rather a way to look at these problems if, as a whole, the football world want to solve it. A particular edge that influences football, and would be interesting to see, is the amount of power agents have acquired on transfers, team building, and even club management.

Fantastic insight.

Nice presentation!

Great job once again, second only to Tifo, 👍

Madagascar vs Lesotho 2014 starting lineups where they are know

start a podcast, Alfie. Wouldn't mind listening to you talking about football for hours

Day 14: "Last 7 Puscas Award winners: Where are they now?"

Interesting video and I knew it existed little. But not as wide spread as this video. Also like the video says even more in other parts of society. While talent as a player always gets found or not in the end. But yes opportunities missed if not given a shot. Humans being humans and some clear ,examples. Thought provoking

Day 29 - The Biggest transfers of EVERY summer transfer window of the Premier League Era, Where are they now?

Always the same, always the managers sons getting picked first or as captains, always the first ones to get scouts looked at them or be the first to be put forward to academy’s !

day 10: most aggressive XI players with the most bookings in the top 5 leauges

I seem to remember a slight ruckus over Michael Bradley being included in the US squad back in 2010, since his father Bob was the manager. Luckily Michael turned out to be one of our better players

It might be a molding of Davide akin to the Emery family of goalkeepers where Antonio was a goalkeeper, his son Juan was a goalkeeper, and Juan's son Unai became you guessed it, a goalkeeper. Only Juan and Unai would have been notably known for play at 1st or 2nd division type teams.

Great video

Great video i have one problem though alfie said that he will display both sides here and he only showed one. If he would have started the video saying here are a few examples of nepatism in football id have no problems