Football Coaching, Performance & Development

Football coaching, performance and development sits at the intersection of sport science, coaching pedagogy and the specific demands of the world's most widely played team sport. It asks what it takes to coach footballers effectively at different levels and in different contexts, how performance can be analysed and improved, and how the development of players from academy age through to elite performance can be supported by evidence-based coaching practice. It is a discipline that combines scientific knowledge with the practical wisdom of the coaching craft.

At Edinburgh Napier University this four-year full-time programme was developed in collaboration with the Scottish Football Association and is the first degree of its kind in Scotland. The programme is designed to provide a holistic view of coaching within a football setting, using evidence-based knowledge and learning to support the UEFA coaching awards that are embedded into each year of the degree. You will engage with reality-based learning throughout, connecting academic content to the actual challenges of coaching in competitive football environments.

You will study performance analysis, player development, sports science, coaching methodology and the organisational structures of the game.

The collaboration with the Scottish FA and the integration of UEFA awards into the degree structure gives this programme a distinctive professional credibility and direct connection to the football industry.

Graduates typically move into football coaching roles at academy, community, semi-professional and professional levels, as well as into performance analysis, player development, sports science support and football administration. Many pursue further coaching qualifications and professional development within the football industry. The programme also provides a foundation for broader careers in sports coaching, performance and development.