Coach Education in Football

Association Football is undoubtedly a global sport, with millions of individuals participating in more than 200 countries. The need for an educated football coaching workforce to deliver appropriate coaching practices has never been greater. Formal coach education, which is often the primary medium for developing football coaches, is socially constructed, meaning an array of social, cultural, and historical factors underpin the design and delivery of any provision. Coach Education in Football: Contemporary Issues and Global Perspectives is the first book to explicitly explore these aspects, by providing critical insight into football coach education programmes from across the globe. Each chapter, organised via a central theme, highlights a contemporary issue affecting football coach education and development within a specific country, offering insights into the contextual opportunities and challenges. The book covers essential topics including the progression of female football coaches, coaches' perspectives towards current provision, technological and pedagogical advances, and the historical development of formal coach education. Each chapter demonstrates the complexities associated with developing football coaches within grassroots and high-performance domains, while providing recommendations for national governing bodies, policy makers, and coach developers. This book is the first of its kind to explicitly investigate football coach education globally. This accessible book is an important read for students, academics, and practitioners with an interest in sports coaching, coach education, and football.

Thomas M. Leeder is a Lecturer in Sports Coaching & Pedagogy within the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences at the University of Essex, UK. Thomas primarily teaches and researches across the overlapping areas of coach education and development, coach learning, sport pedagogy, and the sociology of sports coaching. Thomas also has experience of working as both a coach and coach developer across performance and development domains

Section 1: Introducing Football Coach Education, 1. Coach Education in Football: Setting the Scene, 2. Developing Politically Astute Football Coaches: An Evolving Framework for Coach Learning and Coaching Research, Section 2: High-Performance Football Coach Education, 3. Contemporary Football Management Education in Scotland: Legacy, Learning, and Leading, 4. Coach Development in High-Performance Brazilian Football: Continuous Learning in Professional Clubs, 5. The Coach Education System for Elite Football Coaches in Singapore, Section 3: Youth and Amateur Football Coach Education, 6. Understanding Grassroots Football Coach Education in England through Creative Fiction: Connecting the Past to the Present, 7. Coaching Implications for Amateur/Grassroots 60+ Small-Sided Football: Strategic Team and Player Development in a Canadian and International Context, 8. Cherish the Local: Swedish Youth Football Coaches' Perspectives on Coach Education, Learning, and Support, Section 4: Supporting the Progression of Female Football Coaches, 9. Enhancing the Learning and Development of Female Coaches in the Football Association of Ireland, 10. A Historical Perspective on the Development of Female Football Coaches in South Africa, Section 5: Critical Reviews of Current Football Coach Education Provision, 11. The Football Coach Education System in Botswana: Current Challenges and Future Directions, 12. The Sustainability and Implementation of Course Content in Dutch Football Coach Education, 13. The Evolution of Football Coaching in Australia: An Historical Overview and Research Review of Coach Accreditation, Education, and Development, Section 6: 'Lessons learned' from Empirical Research into Football Coach Education, 14. A Coach Education Initiative in the Context of Norwegian Grassroots Football: Implementation and Lessons Learned, 15. Breaking New Ground in the United States: Lessons Learned from a Master's Degree in Soccer Coaching Utilising a Blended Learning Format, 16. Coach Developers' Perspectives on a Masters' Football Coach Development Programme in Colombia, Section 7: Technological and Pedagogical Developments within Football Coach Education, 17. Developing the Coach Education System in Japan: Tactical Analysis through Objective Data in Football, 18. Coach Education in United States Youth Soccer: Same Game, New Paradigm. Play-Practice-Play, 19. Mobile Devices in German Football Coaching: Implications for Coach Education by Investigating Coaches' Usage, Access, And Guidance, Section 8: Conclusion, 20. Closing Reflections on Football Coach Education: Towards a Rhizomatic Approach