Invitation for UK institutions to design and deliver a three month football study programme for Chinese football coaches and coach educators during the summer of 2018.

The National Youth Campus Football Work Leading Group Office, China Scholarship Council (CSC), the Federation of University Sports of China and China School Sports Federation (FUSC/CSSF) are seeking two or three UK institution partners with the capacity to design, deliver and manage a 3-month football coaching study programme in the UK.  A total of 180 Chinese football coaches and coach educators will be selected from schools and universities across China to participate on the courses throughout the summer of 2018. Each partner institution will be expected to host a group of no less than 60 coaches.

The programme was initially launched in 2016. 2018 will be the third year that this programme is delivered in the UK.

Details of the opportunity

1. Objectives of the programme

The study programme aims to use the UK’s expertise and resources to help football coaches and coach educators from Chinese schools and universities to achieve the following:

• learn about the UK’s approach to football management
• improve their technical skills and theoretical knowledge
• develop their capacity for training young people and increasing China’s football competitiveness
• develop their capacity for training football coaches to cascade down through grassroots football

2. Elements of the programme

The successful UK partners are expected to work with one of the national football associations (The English Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, Scottish Football Association, or the Irish Football Association) to jointly design the curriculum and award FA qualifications based on the results of assessment at the end of the programme to ensure the consistency in standards and accreditations of the programme.   

An important requirement is, on the final awards certificates issued by the national FAs, there is a line specifying the equivalent level of the awards in the UEFA system.  

More specifically, based on the profile of the Chinese coaches, different levels of the FA award courses will need to be delivered as part of the 3-month programme. 

• The FA International Foundation Course or The FA Level 1 Course – 7 days
• The FA International Intermediate Course or The FA Level 2 Course – 20 days
• Blocks 1-3 of The FA International Advanced Course or The FA Level 3/UEFA B – 15 days
• The FA Coach Tutor Training – 7 days

The selected UK institution partners will need to set up discussions with the relevant national governing bodies to design and confirm programme details on the relevant levels, agree on the delivery model and relevant costs, and include the results of the discussion in the bids.

The 3-month programme should include:

1. Indoor and outdoor training sessions during week days, focusing on both theoretical and practical aspects of football training. For example:
   • Essential knowledge to master football training
   • Psychological aspects of football training
   • Training project: improving physical performance
   • Performance Analysis
   • Goalkeeping
   • Nutrition
   • Futsal
   • Knowledge of organisational structures, including visits to professional football training centres and others
   • Field applications
   • Sociological approaches to sports activities
   • Coach education (only if hosting coach educators)
2. Visits to local schools, football academies and Football Clubs (a mix of professional and grassroots), and the visits to games at various levels. 

3. Profiles of Chinese participants

There are 180 football coaches in total (60 -120 coaches per hosting institution), with 2/3 from high schools (age of players: 15-18) and 1/3 from universities (age of players: 18+). 120 of them will take coach courses and the other 60 will take coach educator courses. All of them will meet the following criteria:

• holding a bachelor degree or above
• having more than three years’ experience as a football coach or assistant coach for a school or university football team
• having a basic understanding and knowledge of exercise physiology, athletic psychology, and sociology
• having previously engaged in training provided by the National Youth Campus Football Work Leading Group Office and the FUSC/CSSF in China.

4. Period of the programme

The study programme should be three months in length, preferably during the summer and autumn. (Programmes in 2016 and 2017 both took place between late June and late September.)

5. Budget

The budget that CSC and FUSC/CSSF allocate for overseas study programmes in European countries is usually as below:

Tuition fees: £4,000 per participant for three months

Living expense: £1,500 per participant for three months (including accommodation and transportation for attending training courses and visit programmes. Meals are not included and will be covered by individual participants separately).

The above budget is for reference only. Bidding institutions can provide a detailed quotation for Chinese partners’ consideration.

Background

In March 2015, China’s State Council released an overall reform plan to boost the development of football in the country and aims to realise China’s dream of improving its overall national performance in football. According to the plan, football should be taught in PE classes in primary and middle schools across the country. More school hours will be allocated to football education. China aims to have 50,000 full-time and part-time football coaches trained by 2020.

At the UK-China Education Summit and High-Level People-to-People Dialogue in September 2015, an agreement was reached between the UK and Chinese governments to work together in developing sports education, including the development of a UK-based training programme for 180-200 Chinese football coaches every year from 2016 to 2018.

There are three Chinese organisations working together on development and management of this programme:

• The National Youth Campus Football Work Leading Group Office is China’s national office to lead the macro guidance, overall coordination and general management of national youth campus football, operating under the Department of Physical, Health and Arts Education at the Ministry of Education.

• China Scholarship Council (CSC) is a non-profit institution affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The objective of the CSC is to provide, in accordance with the law, statutes and relevant principles and policies of China, financial assistance to the Chinese citizens wishing to study abroad and to the foreign citizens wishing to study in China.

• The Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC) and the China School Sports Federation (CSSF) are China’s national associations for university and school sports, operating under the Ministry of Education.

Timeline

* Please note this timeline may be subject to further changes.