Why a Football Coaching Degree Is a Real Game Changer

It’s easy to dismiss professional footballers as dense men-children with too much cash.

Newspapers, for instance, are typically keen to report on the archetypal overpaid superstars with the world at their feet, a supermodel on each arm and not much going on in the upstairs department.

However, this obviously isn’t the case for every player who crosses the white line.

There are actually plenty of footballers who’ve chosen to hit the books and study for a degree rather than bury their heads in the racing form, wear a sarong in public or set their house on fire by shooting fireworks from a window.

Most famously, Arséne Wenger has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Strasbourg, speaks seven languages and has even been dubbed “Le Professeur” due to his almighty intellect and assiduous approach to the beautiful game.

In addition, Liverpool’s Glen Johnson has studied for a maths degree and Man Utd’s Mata has bagged a marketing qualification, but these types of academic achievements are the exception rather than the rule for a professional footballer.

Instead, many choose to follow a path well trodden and attain their coaching badges and UEFA Licences in preparation for a career in the dugout once their playing days are numbered – but there’s another, less familiar, way to grab coaching qualifications …

… by attending university.

Boost Your Existing Knowledge of the Game

It sounds atypical, but scores of footballers and coaches involved at every level of the game can benefit from a unique football degree designed to improve the performance of a squad and benefit from highly relevant and practical learning.

Aside from boosting existing knowledge, it furnishes players with the skills needed to operate ethically and safely as a coach, while reinforcing this learning by taking part in real-life coaching situations.

Get in!

Far from being an own goal, a university education furnishes players with a smorgasbord of transferable skills, which means they can find a job in another area should the pressure of management eventually become too much.

Indeed, learning to coach players at the highest level takes much more than a rudimentary knowledge of the game, as modern football coaches require a wide range of skills to get the most out of their squads.

Fancy it?

While you’ll certainly be in the minority when it comes to footballers gaining a university education, the time spent learning from those involved in the upper echelons of the game will hold you in good stead to climb the managerial ladder and, one day, lift some silverware.

What do you think?

Would you consider attending university to grab a football degree? Let us know by leaving a comment below – we’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.