Football and Community Development

This course combines your passion for football with positively impacting communities. This foundation degree provides a unique blend of practical coaching skills, community engagement strategies, and industry knowledge, preparing you for exciting careers in football coaching, sports development, and community work.

You will:

• Have opportunities to work with Wrexham AFC Foundation, gain professional qualifications and work on real-world projects

• Have the chance to network with industry professionals

• Graduate with the tools, experience, and confidence needed to succeed in this dynamic field

• Be ready to coach the next generation of players, deliver impactful community programs, or progress into further studies

• Key course features*
  Access to Professional Facilities: Learn and train in state-of-the-art facilities, including high-quality pitches at the national football development centre, Colliers Park preparing you for real-world environments.
  Engaging Learning Experience: Applied experience working for Wrexham AFC Foundation.
  Opportunities for Networking: Access opportunities to network with local football clubs, community organisations, and governing bodies, giving you a head start in building professional connections.
  Pathways for Future Growth: Receive guidance for further study or career progression, with the option to top-up your degree to a full BA (Hons).

YEAR 1 (LEVEL 4)

Change Maker in the Community: This module explores the role of sport in fostering community engagement, social cohesion, and individual well-being. You will critically examine how sports initiatives contribute to societal development, community identity, and inclusivity. Through a combination of theoretical study and practical application, you will gain insights into the symbiotic relationship between sport and the community.

Asset-Based Community Development: You will explore the key principles of Asset-Based Community Development so that you understand the theory and can apply it to your practice context.

Football Coaching for Player Development: This module aims to equip you with the knowledge, skills, and methodologies required to effectively coach football with a focus on individual player development. It explores technical, tactical, physical, and psychological aspects of player growth, emphasising age-appropriate coaching strategies and performance enhancement.

Introduction to Management and Business: You will be introduced to some of the fundamentals of business, including organisational structure and the nature of modern business practices. You will also acquire a broad understanding of management by exploring the skills and characteristics of effective managers and leaders, and techniques to successfully manage a team.

Health Inequalities and Social Justice: This module will enable you to recognise inequalities in health, mental health and wellbeing and understand their role in contributing to the social justice agenda. It will provide knowledge and understanding of the nature and causes of health inequalities, discrimination, and marginalisation whilst discussing key policy and legislation.

Academic Discovery within the Sport Sciences: Within this module, you will explore key research methods, data analysis techniques, and academic writing conventions relevant to sports studies. Through independent and guided research, they will enhance their ability to evaluate scientific literature, formulate research questions, and apply theoretical knowledge to real-world sporting contexts.

YEAR 2 (LEVEL 5)
Be the Change: Football in the Community: You will explore the role of football as a tool for social change, focusing on its impact on local and global communities. You will also enhance your ability to design, deliver, and evaluate community-based football projects that promote inclusivity and sustainability.

Working with Communities: You will demonstrate personal and professional development by meeting the practice competencies required in the Youth Work National Occupational Standards Area F: Work with Communities.

Strategies for Health Improvement and Promotion: This module will provide knowledge and understanding of established strategies for promoting and improving health, mental health and well-being.

Becoming a Coach: You will examine the pedagogical issues faced by sports coaches when delivering in specific contexts/environments.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation: This module aims to provide you with the opportunity to discover how ideas are developed, how entrepreneurship operates and an understanding of Innovation and entrepreneurship theories within a business context.

Sport Research Methodologies: From Theory to Practice: This module will enable you to develop critical understanding of the various research philosophies, ethical considerations, methods and analytic approaches that can be applied within a sport-related research area.
The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the programme that will take the form of either core or option modules. Modules are designated as core or option in accordance with professional body requirements and internal academic framework review, so may be subject to change.

Wrexham University is committed to supporting our students to maximise their academic potential and the introduction of our Active Learning Framework (ALF) helps deliver this commitment. Grounded in the University’s values of being accessible, supportive, innovative, and ambitious, ALF will support flexible learning that makes the best use of spaces on Campus together with digitally enabled learning opportunities designed to be accessed anytime, anywhere as appropriate. In addition, ALF embodies ways of teaching and learning that create and support a sense of belonging for students – critically important for us as a university that prides itself on being a supportive community.

Incorporating everything mentioned above, our teaching will use a combination of face-to-face and online techniques. There are practical elements across all years that may include off-campus trips to environments that facilitate the learning experience. On average, students will receive 16 hours of taught content through the delivery of ALF per week.

In addition, the university offers workshops and support sessions in areas such as academic writing, effective note-making and preparing for assignments. Students can book appointments with academic skills tutors dedicated to helping deal with the practicalities of university work. Our student support section has more information on the help available.

In terms of particular needs, the University’s Inclusion Services can provide appropriate guidance and support should any students require reasonable adjustments to be made because of a recognised prevailing disability, medical condition, or specific learning difference.

ASSESSMENT
A wide range of assessment methods will be used to test your knowledge and understanding. This includes essays, portfolios, practical sessions, reports, presentations, online discussions, and case study evaluations. You will be assessed on your ability to describe, explain, and analyse sport/fitness coaching concepts. This will be achieved through the investigation of previously published research, individually collected field-based data and specialist computer software and equipment.

If Level 6 study is taken, your time with us culminates in the submission of an independent Learning opportunity (dissertation project), in an area that supports your future aspirations.