With specialised career pathways, strong industry partnerships, and a focus in both the men’s and women’s game, you’ll graduate with the necessary skill set and knowledge for a successful career in the football industry.
in the UK for Quality Education
Our Sports courses are 7th in the UK for graduate prospects
First for jobs
The University of Worcester is first in the UK for sustained employment, further study or both, five years after graduation (excluding specialist institutions) - Longitudinal Educational Outcomes Survey 2024.
Overview
This course has been designed to provide you with a comprehensive education in football performance and coaching. It offers specialised career pathways in, but not exclusive to, coaching, performance analysis, strength and conditioning, player care and welfare aligning with in-demand roles in the football industry. Our strong industry partnerships with local clubs such as Worcester City FC and Worcester City Women’s FC, , Kidderminster Harriers, and Cheltenham Town, as well as clubs across the UK provide invaluable hands-on experience, professional networking, and exposure to real-world football environments.
You will learn from a multidisciplinary team of experienced staff, including UEFA-qualified coaches and professionals with real-world expertise. Teaching integrates theoretical knowledge with practical skills through unique football-focused modules and industry-relevant assessments. The curriculum is designed to meet the rising demands of the football industry, particularly in the women’s sector, and prepares students for versatile roles both on and off the field
Placements
Hands-on experience is a key component of the course. Our links with active football programs and clubs ensure that you’ll gain valuable real-world experience and are well-equipped to enter the football industry upon graduation. There’s a 100-hour placement in the third year, allowing you to focus on specific areas of interest such as performance analysis, strength and conditioning, journalism, or coaching. All modules involve industry-relevant assessments, providing opportunities to work with children and young people, sports clients, and within sports science laboratories.
Course content
Each year you will study a mix of mandatory and optional modules. This flexible course lets you explore career paths in coaching and the wider sports industry, giving you the skills to specialise in disability coaching or performance analysis.
Optional modules will run if they receive enough interest. It is not guaranteed that all modules will run every year.
Optional modules
Careers
With a strong focus on employability, graduates of the Football Performance and Coaching BSc are well-prepared to enter the football industry and make a significant impact. After graduation, you’ll be ready to pursue a variety of career paths, including roles in performance analysis, coaching, media and communication, community and development, and more. By studying this course, you’ll build a flexible skillset that reflects the real-world demands of modern football careers, where professionals often take on multiple roles.
As a coach, you’ll develop and implement training programs, working with players to improve their skills, and helping to identify and nurture young talent. As a performance analyst, you’ll analyse player performance, develop strategies to improve team outcomes, and work closely with coaching staff to implement these strategies.
You’ll gain hands-on experience through placements with clubs like Worcester City Women FC, West Bromwich Albion, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and benefit from schemes like Earn as You Learn and Learn as You Volunteer. These let you combine paid work or volunteering with your studies while earning industry-recognised qualifications in coaching, officiating, and fitness.
Alongside your degree, you’ll have the chance to earn extra vocational qualifications that employers value, like coaching awards in football and other sports, refereeing and officiating certificates, and fitness industry qualifications. These not only help you stand out in the competitive job market but also open up more career pathways within and beyond football
Collaboration is a key part of this course. You’ll be working alongside students from different backgrounds and with interests in different areas of sport. Together, you’ll analyse sports performance, design coaching strategies, and learn how to work with people across the sporting world, including players, parents, coaches, scouts, and even fans on social media. In your final year, you’ll get the chance to get hands-on experience through a 100-hour work placement, where you’ll build your confidence by working in a sports setting.
Our course allows you to explore a wide range of career opportunities within the football industry. Whether you're aspiring to become a football coach, run a private coaching business, or you're more interested in media and communications, your lecturers will support you in selecting modules that align with your ambitions. From coaching-focused modules to those centred on sports journalism, you'll be able to tailor your learning to suit your career goals.
Course highlights
Teaching and assessment
You'll be taught through a combination of practical sessions, lectures, seminars, lab work and work-based learning opportunities.
There are no exams on this course. Instead you'll be assessed in ways that test different ways of learning, thinking and applying knowledge. These include written assignments, practical demonstrations, performance analyses, coaching portfolios and presentations.
Teaching and assessment contents
The University emphasises enabling students to develop independent learning capabilities that will equip them for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement. A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support from Student Services and Library Services, and also the personal academic tutoring system enable you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will help you to flourish and be successful.
You'll be taught through a combination of practical sessions, lectures, seminars, lab work and work-based learning opportunities. Traditional lectures are kept to a minimum (generally no more than an hour) before moving into seminars, workshops and practical activities to develop and apply the theories introduced in the lecture.
The University is a close-knit community and we adopt a very personal approach with an open-door policy allowing you easy access to teaching staff who will offer advice and feedback on your assessed work. You will be assigned a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT) who will support your academic progress and will assist you with any issues throughout your time at the university.
Meet the team
Here are just a few of the teaching team you will learn from on this course.
David Mycock
David consults and researches in the field of coaching science and coaches externally in elite level football. He has helped evolve the game of blind futsal and is a qualified FA Tutor. David is the Head Coach of Worcester Blind FC and has previously coached the England and Great Britain Blind Futsal teams at major tournaments, and is currently the Head Coach of the Czech Republic National Blind Football team.
David has a variety of NGB Awards and as an ex-professional football player is a member of the Professional Footballers Association. His role at the University has grown since 2006 and he is now the Link Tutor for the SSES Partnership programmes with Masaryk University in the Czech Republic.
Mike Harris
Mike is an experienced sports coach with a CV consisting of stints at football clubs such as Birmingham City FC, Stoke City FC, West Bromwich Albion FC and Stourbridge FC. He is currently the Assistant Manager of Cheltenham Town Women FC who reside in the third-tier of women’s football in England.
Mike also has experience playing and working within cricket and American football as well as having coached multiple other sports during his time abroad. Later, in his time at Worcester University, Mike was one of the performance coaches for the men’s football performance teams as well as being elected Vice-President for Student Activities in the academic year 2019-20.
Mike returns to the University following a four-year break where he worked within a Football and Education programme at Dudley College, delivering on the FE and HND sports courses.
Dr Julia West
Julia West has a keen interest in sport and performance. She played football for a number of years in the Women's premiership as goalkeeper for different clubs and earned her England University caps against America, Scotland and Wales.
As a keeper, Julia's perspective on football may be slightly different, if not interesting and she is happy to discuss this with all comers. Julia read her BSc in Sport from Brunel University, where she also successfully achieved an MSc in Sports Coaching. Having completed her PhD in situational motivation, which arose from observations within her goalkeeper coaching, Julia has now turned her attention to all things goalkeeper related.
Jessica Fassnidge
Jess joined the University in January 2023 initially as an Exercise Physiologist working with Hereford and Worcester Fire service. She completed an MSc in Strength, Conditioning and Performance at University College Birmingham.
Jess is currently the captain of Worcester City Women FC and notes winning promotion to the National League alongside being named NJCAA All Tournament Player for Eastern Florida State as some of her favourite sporting moments.
David Mycock
David consults and researches in the field of coaching science and coaches externally in elite level football. He has helped evolve the game of blind futsal and is a qualified FA Tutor. David is the Head Coach of Worcester Blind FC and has previously coached the England and Great Britain Blind Futsal teams at major tournaments, and is currently the Head Coach of the Czech Republic National Blind Football team.
David has a variety of NGB Awards and as an ex-professional football player is a member of the Professional Footballers Association. His role at the University has grown since 2006 and he is now the Link Tutor for the SSES Partnership programmes with Masaryk University in the Czech Republic.
Mike Harris
Mike is an experienced sports coach with a CV consisting of stints at football clubs such as Birmingham City FC, Stoke City FC, West Bromwich Albion FC and Stourbridge FC. He is currently the Assistant Manager of Cheltenham Town Women FC who reside in the third-tier of women’s football in England.
Mike also has experience playing and working within cricket and American football as well as having coached multiple other sports during his time abroad. Later, in his time at Worcester University, Mike was one of the performance coaches for the men’s football performance teams as well as being elected Vice-President for Student Activities in the academic year 2019-20.
Mike returns to the University following a four-year break where he worked within a Football and Education programme at Dudley College, delivering on the FE and HND sports courses.
Sport facilities
Entry requirements
UCAS tariff points required: 112
| Qualification | Grade |
|---|---|
| A-level | BBC |
| BTEC National Extended Diploma | DMM |
| T-level | Merit |
We do accept Access to HE Diplomas and other qualifications which may not exactly match the combinations above. Work out your estimated points with the UCAS tariff calculator.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.
Fees
Fees contents
UK and EU students
The Government has announced that it will increase tuition fees and maintenance loans by 3.1% from the 2025/26 academic cycle. Subject to approval, the University intends to increase our tuition fees in line with this and as per our terms and conditions. This means that from September 2025 the standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees will be £9,535 per year for new and continuing students.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
International students
The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2025/26 academic year is £16,700 per year.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
How to apply
How to apply contents
Applying through UCAS
UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for full-time undergraduate courses in the UK.
Read our how to apply pages for more information on the application process, or if you’d like to apply for part-time study.
Football Performance and Coaching (BSc) Hons - UCAS Code C612
Apply full time via UCASYou can apply directly to the University if you would like to study part-time:
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