Crossword Genius

Small people who cry will be footballers (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sweepers

'footballers' is the definition.
(sweeper is a type of footballer)

'small people who cry' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'people who cry' becomes 'weepers'.
's'+'weepers'='SWEEPERS'

'will be' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for sweepers that I've seen before include "See 7" , "They clean up lotteries" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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