Training

Football coach

Football coaches develop the skills and motivation of football players and teams.

Annual Salary

£18,000 to £28,000

Working hours

36 to 38 variable

You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; flexibly

0.5%
Future employment

There will be 0.5% more Football coach jobs in 2027.
In your local area

What's it all about?

Day-to-day tasks

In this role you could:

  • plan and run amateur, semi-professional or professional coaching sessions
  • give feedback on performance and fitness
  • discuss individual player and team tactics
  • offer guidance on nutrition and injury prevention
  • keep up to date with good coaching practice
  • help players keep a positive mental attitude and self-discipline

Working environment

You may need to wear a uniform.

You could work in the community, at a school, at a college, at a university or at a sports arena.

Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers, physically demanding and you'll travel often.

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • volunteering
  • specialist courses run by a professional body
University

You could study for a foundation degree or a degree in subjects like:

  • football coaching and development
  • coaching science

There are also undergraduate and postgraduate courses that combine football coaching with subjects like:

  • sports business
  • management
  • talent development

It may help you to also complete an online introductory course offered by the Football Association (FA) like:BT Playmaker; Introduction to Coaching Football

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
For more information
College

You could do a college course, which will help you to get started. Relevant subjects include:

  • Level 2 Award in Coaching Game Based Football
  • Level 3 Diploma in Sport
  • Level 3 Diploma in Coaching Sports

You'll need to check if your course includes the FA Coaching Awards, or if you need to take these separately.

For more information
Apprenticeship

You could do a sport community activator coach intermediate apprenticeship or a sports coach higher apprenticeship.

These typically take 18 months to complete as a mix of workplace learning and study.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
For more information
Volunteering and work experience

You could start as a volunteer at your local amateur football club.

This will help to build up your experience and could lead into training for professional coaching qualifications.

Other routes

You can do coaching qualifications offered by The Football Association.

Qualifications start at introductory level and go all the way up to the Level 5 UEFA Pro Licence for the professional game.

Contact your local County Football Association to get more details about courses.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Career tips

You'll need some footballing ability so that you can demonstrate skills and techniques when coaching. Getting experience of working with players from a variety of backgrounds and abilities is also useful.

Salaries for coaches in English professional football are much higher than those working in education, the community and for smaller football clubs.

Further information

You can find out more about a career in coaching through The Football Association and UK Coaching.

As a community coach, with further training, you could move into sports development or youth work. As a coach with a professional team, you could move to a bigger or higher profile club.

You could also move into a specialist area like sports psychology or goalkeeping coaching.

The FA Licensed Coaches' Club offers continuing training and progression for coaches.

You can find out more about a career in coaching through The Football Association and UK Coaching.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

  • leadership skills
  • the ability to teach pupils how to do something
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to monitor your own performance and that of your colleagues
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • the ability to motivate and manage staff
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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