Enjoy flexible study and develop your football career with our innovative football coaching master’s.
Explore athletic potential with our expert-led Performance Football Coaching master’s. You will balance critical theory and practical skills while covering topics like:
- skill acquisition
- contemporary approaches to player development
- microlevel interactions
- performance analysis
- coaching cultures
- research methods.
Unique learning experiences
St Mary’s University is connected with a huge number of world-renowned industry partners via its network of students, staff and our respective research, with these links to industry helping us shape course content.
Importantly for prospective Performance Football Coaching students, St Mary’s is a League Managers Association (LMA) and League Coaches Association (LCA) ‘Institute Partner’ which allows you to gain exclusive access to published content, interviews and webinars with LMA and LCA members.
The degree itself also has a partnership with The Professional Football Scouts Association (PFSA), which grants enrolled students’ free access to their suite of online courses through a dedicated St Mary’s online portal. These courses help supplement and extend your knowledge of scouting, recruitment and performance analysis and are industry recognised qualifications.
Other industry links include professional football clubs for whom our staff work, which allows students to gain exclusive access to study visits organised by the programme team with Chelsea FC.
Designed by industry professionals
Our course content has been tailored to reflect the diverse football coaching environments across the world. We have worked with industry experts, alumni and designated football partners, who have contributed to module design that ensures you are gaining industry relevant knowledge at all times.
Learn from experts
Our programme delivery team consists of industry professionals, coaches and football scientists, whose world-leading contribution to research will help offer you unique insights into academia, whilst also providing context specific professional development opportunities.
Flexible teaching from anywhere in the world
Our teaching is exclusively online and can be accessed from anywhere in the world at a time to suit you and your coaching commitments.
We do not mandate live attendance for lectures, with content pre-recorded to be digested alongside interactive tasks, reading and forums to help you to connect with fellow students. This flexible approach allows you to combine the advancement of your knowledge with the ability to practice concepts in your own professional settings.
Ashley Gumbrell
Lecturer in Football Development and Coaching
Upcoming webinars and events
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Course content
Modules
The Performance Football Coaching degree is currently subject to a revalidation to confirm newly designed module content which will further develop our student’s knowledge and career projects. As a result, the below modules are subject to minor content and/or title changes, with final module details confirmed by March 2025.
Please note: it is possible that a module listed on the website will not be able to run due to reasons beyond our control. For more information please refer to our course information disclaimer.
Entry requirements
2:2
Previous degree
Minimum 2.2 degree or international equivalent, preferably in a sports-related subject.
Additional requirement information
You must hold a UEFA B coaching license (or equivalent from other countries)
You are expected to be working in
We welcome individual discussions with those interested who might be unsure of
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 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in any section.
We now accept IELTS Indicator test results as proof of your English language level.
Further Information
For more information about entry requirements please get in touch.
Fees & funding
September 2025
Home
£11,910
International
£11,910
Additional costs
*Please note: Tuition fees are annual and may increase as detailed in our tuition fee variation disclaimer.
Your tuition fees will cover the cost of all mandatory elements of your programme. Additional costs could be incurred depending on optional modules chosen and other projects undertaken.
For further information about additional costs please see our additional costs webpage.
Alumni discount
A 20% tuition fee discount is available for our alumni (undergraduate and PGCE) planning to study this Master's degree. Those studying for a PGDip of PGCert are not eligible for the discount.
Funding
Except for any iQTS courses, you can check on the UK government website to see if you may be eligible for a loan of up to £12,167 to help with course fees and living costs while you study a postgraduate programme.
Home and international students for non-iQTS courses may also be eligible for external sources of funding. International students should check their eligibility for our International Scholarship.
For more information, please look at our postgraduate funding page.
How the degree is taught
Assessment methods
Our innovative delivery methods allow you to access all online content at a time that suits you. We use pre-recorded lectures, forums, blogs, and a host of online media tools to allow you to interact with your lecturers, each other, and the weekly content. You will have access to our virtual learning environment throughout the degree, where all of you course materials and resources are stored.
Assessment methods are varied, allowing you to showcase a range of skills. These include blog posts, presentations, match/recruitment analysis, group projects, filmed coaching sessions and a small number of written essays. This culmination of your degree is the completion of your own research project – this can be undertaken in your own contexts and/or on subjects related to your areas of interest.
Career opportunities
As a Performance Football Coaching student, you will develop a range of academic and practical skills to build on your existing football coaching knowledge. You will also have the opportunity to collaborate and network with other students from across the world to develop your own career further.
Contact our Career Services at careers@stmarys.ac.uk for further information on jobs and postgraduate opportunities.
Some examples of job roles and areas of work for graduates of Performance Football Coaching (Distance Learning) MSc include:
Apply now
September 2025
Make sure to check our step-by-step guide to application process.
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