Not many people can say they balance a professional football career with full time work while living in a foreign country … but Alex Gummer can do it all.
The 27-year-old moved to Switzerland in the new year and has been living and training with her teammates from BSC Young Boys ever since. Gummer, who previously played for Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United in the W-League, has now leapt head-first into the Nationalliga A division on the other side of the world.
Almost two years ago, Gummer travelled to Switzerland on a holiday, where she reached out to BSC Young Boys. The club took her to watch a training session and a game. They were keen to have her on board, but Gummer wasn’t ready to move just yet.
“They kept in contact with me for almost two years, checking in to see how I was going. I kept on telling them ‘No, no, no’ … and then one day, I said ‘Guess what! I’ve got a job! I’m moving!’”
The club put her up in a spare room with her teammates, and she was involved in a four-week mini preseason before the beginning of the competition. However, Gummer’s season at Young Boys had a turbulent start.
“I played one game. There were a couple others, but I injured myself…and then corona happened. It’s been a bit of an unlucky start.”
Even with a single cap, Gummer has already learnt a lot about the differences in football between Switzerland and Australia.
“Technically, it’s quite a high level – it’s probably a higher level than the W-League. But it’s definitely more physical in Australia, and Australia generally has a higher tactical focus.”
Gummer also noticed that there’s a larger proportion of players who work full time, or study and play at the same time in Switzerland than there is in Australia.
“The PFA in Australia has done a lot of work in getting a minimum wage for women, which is on par with what the men get paid per hour, whereas Switzerland does not have that. I don’t think we have any professional contracts; all of the players study or work full time. In the W-League, there was maybe only me and one other player who worked full time.”
One of the main catalysts for Gummer’s move to Switzerland was the guarantee of her job at a pharmaceuticals manufacturing company. The all-rounder studied for six years to complete a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and Bachelor of Science, which Gummer says has been difficult at times to fit in amongst her professional footballing commitments.
“If you’re honest and upfront with your commitments it makes it a lot easier… if I had an exam or a test, sometimes I would miss a session, or the university would move my test. I even studied twice by correspondence… I would be living in Adelaide, playing for Adelaide United, and studying in Melbourne at Monash University.”
Now Gummer is kicking it in the Swiss capital of Bern; studying German, going on hikes, and exploring Switzerland. When asked what she misses most about home, she didn’t miss a beat.
“The coffee. It’s crazy, the coffee here is so different. There are no brunches, or anything like that, so I miss that culture. And on Sunday everything is closed, it’s like a family day. It means that I go out every Sunday hiking around Switzerland to explore, rather than hanging out with my friends and going to brunch like I would if I was in Australia.”
However, coffee and brunches might not be enough to lure Gummer back home.
“My initial plan was to stay for 12 months, but it’s been a bit of an interesting period with the Coronavirus. I’m thinking that I’m probably going to stay in Switzerland for at least another year, and maybe even longer.”
Follow Alex and other Australians / New Zealanders abroad here.
