The state of the specialised education in the world of football

Football Development Institute deals intensively with education, offering a proprietary educational system, but also analysing the educational offer of global and national federations, as well as commercial institutions. Our theses in the context of the state of education were clearly formulated by Marcin Gabor in a published analytical article, and we present them below in the form of a structured list.

▶ FACTS ABOUT THE RESEARCH PROJECT

1. Project start date: December 2023
2. Duration of the “Research project”: 12-14 months
3. Scope of the study: 25 European countries, 50 leagues
4. Forma badania: questionnaire with answers in different structural forms
5. Presentation of content effects: publication of a professional study, including a quantitative and qualitative summary formula | in addition, conclusions from the FDI site
6. Languages of publication: Polish, English, German
7. Access to publication: partly open

▶ THESES FORMULATED BY FDI

Substantive problems:

• lack of multi-level, long-term educational programmes based on differentiated methodologies
• educational institutions have no substantive foundations: “Football Identity”, “Club Development Model”, content models (tailored to the educational role)
• educational institutions do not develop the position profile of the educated role
• educational measures are not based on a substantive foundation and position profile
• education without a stable conceptual foundation does not take into account the detailed knowledge and competences of the position profile
• educational measures do not cover a number of important developmental planes
• content provided is not complex, detailed, in-depth or complementary
• educational institutions do not rely on specific definitions, concepts, models
• educational activities are not a coherent programme (agenda | content)
• recruitment of Experts is not based on a defined profile
• there is no multi-annual unification of educational activities

Impact on education:

• no possibility of undertaking long-term education
• limited spectrum of knowledge acquisition
• chaotic educational offer
• low level of preparation of Specialists
• inability to compare the educational offer

Practical implications:

• lack of complex conceptual foundations (substantive foundations | position profiles) for the different stakeholders in football
• promotion of a generalist pattern in the interpretation of individual Specialist roles (positions)
• transfer of educational chaos into the operation of Clubs
• non-existent substantive support from educational institutions for Clubs (substantive foundations | position profiles | content)
• unstable treatment of individual position profiles by the Clubs
• wide divergence in the way and level of work in the Clubs
• lack of substantive growth in various areas of Club
• inability to develop personal development based on education
• abandonment in the football environment of those seeking other educational paths
• wasting a lot of talent in different Specialist roles

Destructive effect:

The absence of comprehensive and long-term educational programmes in the world of football, the failure of educational institutions to consider the substantive foundations and precise position profiles of the roles being educated, the omission of numerous developmental planes, general and inconsistent content, the lack of programme unification, the negative effects on the development of Specialists, as well as all the adverse practical implications result in the actual degradation of football as a sport.

▶ PRACTICAL INFORMATION

In which countries is the research project being conducted?

There are no restrictions. The survey will reach people from many continents.

Who can take part in the research project (fill in the questionnaire)?

All people with experience in the following types of organisations (any seniority), active in the football area:

🔹 Club

🔹 continental federation (e.g. FIFA or UEFA)

🔹 national federation

🔹 league organisation

🔹 educational institution

🔹 university

🔹 consultancy institution

The research project is also open to people who have other types of organisations in their professional history than those listed or who do not yet have experience in the football world. There is one condition: the persons mentioned should have a track record of using various forms of education in football (events & educational programmes).

What forms of education are we researching?

🔹 obligatory education

All educational measures required by the regulations of the federations and football associations as well as your own employer. We are talking about various licensing obligations, credited conferences or internal trainings.

🔹 facultative education

A collection of all events and programmes selected independently and freely by an individual person. These can be webinars, conferences, courses, educational platforms, advisory sessions, mentoring or internships.

The study looks at experiences in single events as well as long-term programmes.

What areas do we study?

🔹 characteristics of Participant activity in educational events and programmes

🔹 perception and evaluation of the level of the current educational offer

🔹 educational preferences and visions of high quality education in the football area

▶ PARTICIPATION IN THE RESEARCH PROJECT

Be the part of our research project on the ‘State of specialised education in European football’ and complete the survey.