BSc (Hons)Football Studies

Core modules

Coaching in the Foundation Phase

This practically based module aims to teach how to deliver football coaching sessions that are enjoyable, safe and effective as the basis for the forthcoming coaching modules by focusing on the Foundation Phase (ages 9 – 12). Underpinned by coaching pedagogy of key performance components of football including technical, tactical, psychological, physical and social aspects.

Elite Youth Development in Football

The development of youth footballers in professional football club’s academies is a vital part of the Premier League. You will cover core elements of the Elite Player Performance Plan to gain an in-depth understanding of the day to day workings of a Category 1-4 professional football club’s Academy.

Football and Society

This introduces students to the sociological study of football. It does so by introducing students to a number of key sociological concepts as they relate to the game.

Fundamentals of Skill Acquisition

In this module you will learn how our body and mind take in information from the environment to execute sporting skills for example how our eyes pass information from the environment to the brain. You will also learn about yourself and how well you can process information and test your own footballing skills. You will understand how the environment impact the development of footballing skills and how the structure of practice and the feedback you give impacts learning.

Principles of Football Development

This will provide an opportunity for students to explore the concepts and theories which underpin football development by engaging in real-world learning experiences which are aligned to the module and assessment.

Research and Study Skills

This module will introduce you to the key 'research and study skills' required to successfully achieve this. You will be challenged to explore your existing ideas and tasked to seek out new information in order to develop your understanding of research and knowledge generation. This module is key to your future studies and will help prepare you for your ‘research journey’ at university.

Core modules

Coaching in the Youth Development Phase

This module will build upon the basic principles of football coaching covered in year one, offering a practical and comprehensive approach to the coaching of football within the Youth Development Phase (12 – 16). The focus on the coaching process will primarily deal with the coaching an individual as they fit into a unit. You will learn how to develop relevant and realistic game-like sessions through the use of Functional Practices, Phase of Plays and Small Sided Games, incorporating decision-making whilst also remaining enjoyable.

Research Methods

This module is a keystone for your undergraduate degree. It provides you with the fundamental building blocks towards a final year dissertation and equips you with the tools needed to fulfil an independent and academically rigorous research project. Here you will learn about the importance of academic enquiry and develop an awareness of the role of research in sport.

Sport Psychology in Football

Understanding the psychology of individual players and teams is crucial to football performance. This module will give you a deeper understanding of those psychological factors that will enhance your own delivery in football as well as enable you to support the creation of better environments for players to thrive.

Strategic Football Development

This module provides the opportunity for students to develop a strategic understanding of football development in order to apply the concepts and theories learnt within the principles of football development module (Level 4), in ‘real world’ football development environments.

Technical and Tactical Performance Analysis and Recruitment

During this module you will learn about key definitions, theories and concepts of performance analysis and recruitment including; historical perspectives, data collection procedures, notation and computerised notation systems, statistical representation and reliability, role of performance indicators, and the integration of both departments with the coaching process. You will also learn practical skills such as planning, coding, and presenting key performance indicators to individual players, units of the team, and the coach; as well as working within a group and as an individual.

The Politics, Culture and Sociology of Football

This module will provide you with a critical understanding of the world’s most popular but also most contested sport. Drawing upon a number of political and sociological literatures, we will critically explore various football-related issues from a range of different theoretical viewpoints. Each theoretical perspective will be analysed using a range of specific football-related literature. Using this literature, you will be expected to present a political and sociological analysis addressing the culture of football, and the importance of applying these theories to underpin such an analysis.

Placement year

Gaining practical work experience is at the heart of the course, and students are encouraged to apply the skills learnt as part of their degree within a range of different clubs and in local community settings. Students are provided with the opportunities to undertake short and long-term placements, either alongside their studies or as part of a placement year built into the four-year degree programme. This year long placement can take place at football-related institution anywhere in the world, and support is offered to students to help them undertake work and gain the experience that matches their future career plans within the game.

Core modules

Dissertation

This module is an exciting opportunity to do your own research on a topic/issue that is relevant to your studies. Drawing on knowledge from other modules and your research proposal, you will plan and complete a research project and write this into your dissertation. This module enables you to synthesise your knowledge, and skills from other modules to do your own research and write and submit a dissertation.

Globalisation of Football

This module explores the impact of the game's financialisation and global appeal, not simply to fans but increasingly to investors and sponsors. Students will consider the patterns of inequality that have emerged and what this means for different countries, regions, clubs, leagues, fans and players. The module also examines how the global game is governed, specifically by FIFA as it has become one of the most powerful and wealthiest political institutions in the world.

Coaching in the Professional Development Phase

This practically based module aims to provide you with a working knowledge of some of the tactical components in the Professional Development Phase (ages U17 – 21), of the 11v11 game, building from the principles and learned theories from the previous coaching modules in year one and two. It will examine the development of football tactics, formations and the evolution of various systems of play, along with the different positional requirements that each system might possess. This is important for those aspiring to work with a team in senior (21+) and / or youth development (16-21) environments.

Optional modules

Please note: Not all optional modules are guaranteed to run each year.

Football Sustainability and Social Change

Financial and environmental sustainability are two of the biggest challenges facing football, while the game itself can be an important site for social change. This module has been designed to examine the currently unsustainable and unequal economic structure of the men's and women's game, and the inequality that exists across the football pyramid.

Professional Practice in Football Development

This module is designed to encourage you to apply theoretical concepts to the practical planning, management and evaluation of football development project work in order to reflect on implications for the sector. You will contribute to decision-making in real-world football development as well as develop the transferable professional attributes necessary for employment in a range of roles within the football industry.

Applied Sport Psychology in Football

Applied sport psychology is a crucial part of ensuring players thrive in the elite performance environment. This practice is becoming more important across the game, given that all Premier League academies must consider the mental health and psychological welfare of their players. Knowledge within this area will, therefore, be crucial for your career in football.

Applied Performance Analysis and Recruitment

This module will enable you to develop the specific vocational skills necessary to embark on a career in performance analysis, sport coaching or within sport science. Performance analysis is the provision of feedback relating to sports performance and is critical to the success of improving the performance of both the athlete and coach. An analyst will assess performance in sport to develop an understanding of actions that can inform decision-making, optimise performance and support coaches and players to gain positive results.

Applied Coaching in Football

Utilising scientific evidence, this module will explore the central role of coaching pedagogy in developing football players in general. This pedagogical knowledge will inform and guide coaching practices, behaviours and assist in facilitating an understanding of how this learning is transferred from coaches to players.

Business Start-up

The key areas of study in this module include the small business enterprise sector where you will look at what constitutes a small business and the typology of small business behaviour in relation to growth and management styles. This includes economic and political influences on small business trends along with key determinants of small business success and failure.