Traditionally, it has been up to players to arrange their own training schedules, should they become free agents and not swiftly be signed by another team.Arranging trials would be up to players and agents. Some players would train with others in small groups in order to help each other stay fit and bolster their hopes of winning a contract.Since the summer of 2024, the Professional Footballers’ Association has run specialist camps for players without clubs.The aim is to help get players fit and select moves they feel are right for them through a professional support network.In its first run last year, about 120 players attended the camp, with about 90% going on to join new clubs.This year, the attendance figures are close to reaching the same levels – and 44 players have already joined new clubs.”I signed up straight away,” said former Chelsea, Reading and West Brom midfielder John Swift, who left the Baggies at the end of last season.”If you’re between almost choosing clubs or talking to clubs, there’s no point being sat at home and going to the gym on your own.”Swift attended the first two weeks of the camp before signing a contract with hometown club Portsmouth.The PFA’s out-of-contract camp also play in friendly matches against other teams, with nine games so far against the likes of Everton Under-21s, Leyton Orient and Newport County.Dummett and Christie-Davies joined the camp this year after not doing so in 2024, with both taking round trips upwards of 350 miles to attend each week.For Dummett, it was seeing former Newcastle team-mate Dwight Gayle attend and win a contract at Hibernian that inspired him to sign up.”I know Dwight really well and I was speaking to him when he was here last year,” said Dummett.”He got a good move on the back of this camp. Hopefully I can do the same.”Other players to have attended this year’s camp and win contracts at new clubs include goalkeepers Asmir Begovic and Angus Gunn, while Morecambe signed five players from the PFA camp this summer.
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The summer of a trialist
