Fleetwood Town have partnered with the Player Football Association (PFA) to deliver a UEFA B License Coaching qualification to any player within our first-team and Under-23s who has an interest in Academy coaching, in which 14 are currently taking.
The Club has an ethos of developing their own, which has been evident in the number of Academy graduates that have featured within our first-team this season. They also want to develop people away from the pitch by implementing a comprehensive Education and Professional Development programme for the players.
The UEFA B License is a prestigious Football Coaching award that is renowned across Europe and the rest of the World and includes 20 workshops focusing on Coaching Philosophy, Practice Design, Performance Analysis, Performance Psychology, and Football Fitness.
It also allows the players who have now completed the qualification to obtain a paid role within our Academy and support our age group coaches with further training sessions and match days. During the qualification, the first-team and Under-23 players delivered fun and challenging sessions to our Foundation Phase, Youth Development Phase, and International Academy players.
Andrew Griffiths, Head of Education in our Academy, said about the partnership: “The 14 players who embarked on the course in January have shown a fantastic approach to their development and have built a culture within the group of continuous self-development.
“The players’ professionalism and determination to improve their coaching skills has been nothing short of impressive and reflects the type of people we want within our Academy environment.
“We are creating good, humble, and well-rounded young men here at Fleetwood Town, as well as top professional footballers. I am delighted that this qualification will open another career pathway for the lads, and they are now in a strong position if they wish to pursue Football coaching in the future.”
Congratulations to Carl Johnston, Dylan Boyle, Luc Rees, Cian Hayes, Sam Bird, Harrison Holgate, Brad Halliday, Drew Baker, Akiel Raffie, Tom Donaghy, Connor Teale, Billy Batch, and Jake Wallace, who have now completed the qualification, becoming highly skilled coaches alongside their career as a professional footballer.
Billy Crellin – who started the programme but later moved to Everton Football Club in the January transfer window – is still in contact with the Club and will continue to complete the qualification in the coming weeks.
A special thanks must go to Mark Jules and the PFA, for supporting the lads through the qualification and encouraging them to continue on their coaching journey.