Playing hockey abroad: how player-coach roles and club contracts usually work
Many players spend a season with a club in another country. Arrangements vary widely, so the most useful skill is knowing what to ask before you accept.
Last reviewed:
The common arrangements
- Player only. You join a club for a season to play. Some clubs help with accommodation or local work; many players fund themselves.
- Player-coach. You play for one team and coach another team, junior sessions or a school programme. This is a common way for clubs to make an overseas player's season affordable.
- Coach with some playing. The main job is coaching; playing is optional.
We do not publish typical pay figures. Arrangements depend on the club, the league and the country, and figures repeated online are rarely verifiable. Ask the club to put its offer in writing.
Questions to ask before you say yes
- Which team will I play for, and at what level?
- If coaching is included, how many hours a week, which teams, and who do I report to?
- What is provided: accommodation, travel, meals, kit, a car, help finding other work?
- What is paid, how, and when? Is anything conditional on selection?
- Which visa or work permission will I use, and who applies for it?
- What happens if I am injured or the arrangement ends early?
- Can I talk to a player who did this role last season?
Visa and work permission: check the official source
Playing or coaching for money normally needs permission to work in that country. Two examples of sport-specific routes:
- United Kingdom. GOV.UK describes the International Sportsperson visa for elite sportspeople and qualified coaches. It needs a sponsoring employer and an endorsement from the sport's governing body confirming, among other things, that the person is internationally established (GOV.UK).
- Australia. The Department of Home Affairs describes a Sporting Activities stream of the Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408), which allows a person to play, coach, instruct or adjudicate for an Australian team or sporting organisation. For elite players and coaches it refers to endorsement by an Australian national sporting body (Home Affairs).
Other countries have their own rules. Use the government immigration website of the destination country, and be cautious of anyone who offers to "sort the visa" informally.
Before you travel
- Get the offer in writing, including what happens if plans change.
- Check that your home association and the destination association are happy with any registration or transfer paperwork the league requires.
- If you will coach children, ask which background check you will need and start it early.