New UEFA Academy open to all sport professionals

Last week, UEFA officially launched the UEFA Academy, bringing together all of the organisation's educational initiatives with the aim of helping the persons involved in football further develop their skills. A number of programmes of the UEFA Academy are also open to professionals working in other areas of sport as well as to the general public. 

Over a thousand people have already graduated from UEFA's various educational programmes, including members from all 55 UEFA national associations – many of whom have managed to advance their careers from these initiatives. At present UEFA offers 15 courses, six of which feature an academic certificate. These cater for a diverse audience, from former footballers to those working in football bodies around the continent and beyond, via those looking to specialise in particular disciplines such as law or medical education. The new UEFA Academy makes it easier for potential applicants to find the course that is right for them, many of which are implemented in cooperation with the University of Lausanne (UNIL). 

"Football is a beautifully simple game but the organisation of the sport has become a very complex industry," said Thomas Junod, head of UEFA Academy. "One just has to look at UEFA, where there are hundreds of people all involved in different football specialities. Therefore it is vitally important that we can provide educational programmes to train people in activities as diverse as football competition management or dealing with medical and legal aspects within the game."

Aside from the specific programmes for coaches and referees devised by UEFA's specialised units, the UEFA Academy proposes development opportunities for everyone working in the football industry, from management programmes, programmes for specialists in certain fields (Law, Medical, Social Responsibility (FSR) and Events etc.), to customised programmes for players, knowledge sharing and research initiatives as well as on-demand education. Finding a path to working in football administration can be daunting. However, the UEFA Academy is now opening its doors to members of the general public who will have the chance to enrol on certain programmes. 

For more in-depth information about the UEFA Academy and the courses it has to offer, please visit the UEFA Academy website: https://UEFAacademy.com/.

Keep up to date on the UEFA Academy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/showcase/uefa-academy/

Click here to read the full UEFA press release.