The FA Level 1 in Coaching Football is the first stepping-stone on the core coaching pathway. It will provide you with an introduction to coaching the game and working with players from U7s to Open Age football.

If you are new to coaching, we would recommend the FA Playmaker course. It's open to anyone over the age of 14 and is completely free and fully online. No previous football experience or qualifications are needed to sign up. The course is designed to help learners create fun, safe and inclusive football, and one of the crucial components of the course is a 1-hour module on the basics of safeguarding and medical.

Where possible, we would also recommend speaking to and observing other coaches to build your experience and knowledge. Depending upon the format you would like to coach (youth or adult football), it would be worth getting in touch with your local Football Development Officer to establish local contacts.