A brand-new UEFA C Licence (on the Children’s Pathway) is set to launch, as the Scottish FA Coach Education Department continues to develop and enhance its portfolio of coaching courses.
The new award upgrades the previous Scottish FA’s Children’s Coaching Licence on the children’s pathway.
Candidates who complete this course can progress onto the Advanced Children’s Coaching Licence and additionally - because of this change – successful candidates now also have the option to move onto the UEFA C Licence (Youth / Adult Pathway).
This additional accreditation- the awarding of a UEFA licence on our Children’s Coach Education pathway- is the latest in a series of upgrades to the Coach Education Department’s offering. 2023 has already seen the roll-out of a new Coach Educator and Developer Award and the introduction of a double award offer for goalkeeping coaches containing the UEFA Goalkeeping B Licence and a bespoke edition of the UEFA C Licence.
This application window is now open for the course, which will begin in June. Candidates can apply here.
Anyone who has completed the Children’s Coaching Licence since 2020 will be able to upgrade their award to the UEFA C Licence (Children’s Pathway) as part of the change. Candidates who completed the award prior to 2020 will be given the opportunity to assimilate to gain the UEFA award. Details of this will be communicated in due course.
The minimum requirements for this new course remain the same as before: candidates must hold a Children’s Coaching Award and have completed their Children’s Wellbeing in Scottish Football (e-learning), and Mental Health in Scottish Football (e-learning).
The course follows a three-phase approach, with the initial two steps comprising online work and written assignment, while the final stage constitutes 24-hours of in-person coaching practice and practical assessment.
Martyn Buckie, Grassroots Coach Education & Development Manager, Scottish FA: “This new award marks another important step as we continue to strive to raise the bar across our Coach Education coaching portfolio.
“It should add an extra layer of professionalism to what was already a vital offering, and the upgrade means it’s an award that is recognised around Europe and beyond.
“We hope the fact that candidates who complete this course can now go ‘sideways’ on to the UEFA C Licence (Youth / Adult Pathway) will help open up different pathways for aspiring coaches.”
Greig Paterson, Head of Coach Education and Development, Scottish FA added: “We’ve worked hard with colleagues at UEFA who recognised that our courses were robust enough to pass the ratification process, allowing us to have two UEFA C Licence courses.
"Each of these UEFA C Licence courses recognises the age and stage of the player and of course the coach competencies that are required, whether that be the children’s game or the youth/ adult, 11-a-side game.
"At the Scottish FA, we’re keen to emphasise that better coaches will lead to us having better players and enhance best practice in our delivery where we can in all our coach education courses.
"Passing through UEFA ratification to allow us to award extra UEFA licences is all part of us attempting to lead the way in coach education.”
The UEFA C Licence (Youth / Adult) brochure can be found here.
The UEFA C Licence (Children's) brochure can be found here.
