Performance Football Coaching (Distance Learning) MSc, PGDip, PGCert  Performance Football Coaching (Distance Learning) MSc, PGDip, PGCert St Mary's University, Twickenham, London ../webroot/files/Institutions/cover_photo/1563178405stmary's.jpg

A Master's degree enabling you to develop and apply cutting-edge, evidence-based knowledge and skills in football (soccer) coaching and performance to advance your career.    

This innovative online distance learning programme allows football coaching professionals worldwide to develop a critical understanding of issues relating to coaching and performance in football (soccer), and advance their professional practice whilst working.

The course content and design are informed by our partners in the football industry, including coaches and coach educators from The English FA and European professional clubs.

Taught by nationally and internationally renowned coaches and football scientists, the applied nature of the programme means that you are continually asked to reflect on course content in your professional practice.

St Mary's is the first institution in the UK and internationally to offer a distance learning football coaching course of its kind, allowing you to study when and where it suits you. This flexible format means you can advance your knowledge, expertise and professional skills in parallel.

We are a leading provider of postgraduate taught sport science programmes and are widely recognised as one of the UK’s premier sports institutions. 

• Taught as an online distance learning programme
• Course informed by our industry partners, including coaches and coach educators from The English FA and European professional clubs
• Academic staff involved in world-leading and applied research, consultancy, and high-level football coaching activities

Applicants must hold, or be working towards, a UEFA B coaching licence or equivalent qualification (such as USSF or AFC) and demonstrate continued commitment to coaching practice.

Non-degree entrance

Applicants without formal degree level qualification but with significant relevant work experience are encouraged to apply.

We will assess your suitability for the non-degree entrance through a two-step process. For more information please check our entrance task details.

International requirements

International students should check our country-specific pages for equivalents. If English is not your first language you will need to achieve an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with no less than 5.5 in any section (or equivalent).

The programme is delivered in a full-time (1 year) and part-time (2-3 years) distance learning format through our bespoke online learning platform. Each module has a number of activities to complete, with each activity encompassing a set of learning ‘tasks’.

The programme utilises a variety of teaching and assessments methods to enable you to learn from practical and theoretical perspectives. These include: 

• pre-recorded lectures
• coach/player video analyses and feedback
• discussion forums
• quizzes
• collaborative group tasks
• case studies
• presentations

To enable you to complete video-based tasks, we will provide you a GoPro camera and access to the Coach Logic online video analysis software.

You will be asked to attend a 4-5 day mandatory on-site period in May. This incorporates study visits to Premier League club academies in London, practical sessions, workshops and a coaching conference. 

We will also organise an optional one-day on-site induction in September to welcome and prepare you for the course. For students who can’t attend, we will provide an online induction. 

Part-time students will be charged for the modules undertaken per academic year. Module prices are calculated as a percentage of credits against the total credits and cost of the degree.

Tuition fees are subject to an inflationary increase each year, meaning if your course runs over more than one academic year you may pay an increased fee per module for each subsequent year of study. Tuition fee increases for returning students will be capped at the higher of 5% per annum or the rate of Consumer Price Index inflation in the United Kingdom.