Coaching licences, explained

In one lineCoaching licences are a ladder of qualifications, run by national football associations to standards set by their confederation, and the top rung is normally required to lead a team in UEFA’s club competitions.

Why coaching licences exist

Anyone can coach a group of friends in a park. But to coach at higher levels, leagues and competitions usually ask for a recognised qualification. Coaching licences give clubs, players and parents a common standard for what a coach has been trained to do.

In Europe that standard comes from the UEFA Coaching Convention, an agreement between UEFA and its member national associations. It was introduced in 1998 and has been updated four times, most recently in 2020.

The convention works like this:

• UEFA sets the minimum criteria for each course: who can enrol, how many hours it lasts and what it must cover.
• National associations run the courses. Once an association signs the convention, the diplomas it awards count as UEFA diplomas and licences.
• Qualifications travel. Because every signatory follows the same minimum standards, a licence gained in one country is recognised in others, which helps coaches work across Europe.

According to UEFA, more than 200,000 people hold valid UEFA-endorsed coaching licences.

A note on words: the diploma is what you earn by passing the course. The licence is what lets you work, and it has to be kept up to date.

The UEFA ladder

The main pathway has four levels. The C diploma is the entry point. Each level above it requires a valid licence at the level below, plus coaching experience.

Alongside the main ladder, UEFA sets criteria for specialist diplomas:

• UEFA Youth B (60 hours) and UEFA Elite Youth A (120 hours), for coaches developing young players on the way to the professional game;
• UEFA Goalkeeper B (60 hours) and UEFA Goalkeeper A (120 hours), for goalkeeping coaches;
• UEFA Futsal B (120 hours), for coaches of futsal, the indoor five-a-side game.

Each association decides its own prices, schedules and selection process within these minimums. Places on the Pro course are limited. UEFA’s usual maximum has been 20 candidates per course; in September 2026 it announced a rise to 24, with the four extra places reserved for female coaches and coaches working in women’s football.

What the Pro licence is required for

To play in UEFA’s club competitions, a club needs a licence from its national association or league, issued under UEFA’s club licensing rules. One of those rules covers the head coach of the first team. Under the 2026 edition of the regulations, the head coach must hold:

• a valid UEFA Pro licence, where the national association has signed the convention at Pro level;
• a valid UEFA A licence, where it has not;
• or a UEFA recognition of competence equal to the licence required.

The same article describes the head coach’s job: selecting players, deciding tactics and training, managing players and staff in the dressing room and technical area, and handling media duties. If the post falls vacant during the season, the club has at most 60 days to appoint someone with the required qualification.

A similar rule is coming to women’s club football. On 11 September 2026, UEFA announced that from the 2029/30 season, head coaches of clubs in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup must hold a valid UEFA Pro licence, or a UEFA A licence depending on their association’s status under the convention. Assistant coaches in those competitions will need a UEFA A licence, or a UEFA B licence on the same basis.

Domestic leagues set their own requirements for their divisions. In England, for example, the Football Association describes the UEFA Pro Diploma as mandatory for first-team managers in the Premier League. Always check the current rulebook of the competition in question.

Keeping a licence valid

A licence is not for life. UEFA states that its licences are valid for three years. Coaches keep them valid through continuing education, often called CPD (continuing professional development). The Irish Football Association, for example, explains that a UEFA licence is valid for three calendar years, and that renewing it requires at least 15 hours of CPD in each three-year cycle. Other associations publish their own rules.

Outside Europe

Other confederations run similar systems. The details below come from their published documents.

• Asia (AFC). The AFC Coaching Convention covers the AFC C, B, A and Pro diplomas, plus Elite Youth B and A and Goalkeeping B and A. Member associations join at B, A or Pro level, depending on the highest course they are approved to run. A licence is valid for three calendar years and is renewed through further education.
• South America (CONMEBOL). CONMEBOL’s 2026 convention sets licences at C, B, A and PRO levels, with further licences for futsal, beach soccer, goalkeeping coaches and fitness coaches. A licence lasts three calendar years. To renew it, the holder completes a refresher course of at least 20 hours. The convention gives, as an example of a national requirement, that a PRO licence may be required to coach a professional first-division team.
• North and Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf). The Concacaf Coaching Convention sets a pathway of C, B, A and Pro licences. Concacaf introduced it to member associations in 2022 and opened applications in May 2023. Member associations apply to Concacaf for approval, and approved associations can award Concacaf licences through their own courses. The stated aim is mutual recognition, so coaches can move between member associations.

How to start

For most people the first step is the national association’s entry course. In Europe that is the UEFA C diploma, which is aimed at grassroots coaches. Look on your national association’s website for dates, costs and entry requirements, which vary from country to country.

Free places to learn

A licence needs a formal course, but plenty of good learning is free:

• FIFA Training Centre. FIFA’s online platform, launched in November 2021, is free to use, and a free profile adds features such as tracking your learning. It offers training sessions for all levels from grassroots to elite, plus analysis of tournaments, organised into three sections: the game, practice and the environment around the player.
• UEFA technical reports. UEFA’s technical observers publish analysis of its competitions, from youth tournaments to the men’s and women’s EURO. The reports are free to read on uefa.com.

Neither replaces a licence, but both are a good way to learn the ideas and vocabulary that the courses build on.

Where to go next

• Football positions, explained: the jobs a coach organises.
• Formations, explained: how coaches arrange a team.
• Pressing, explained: coaching the game without the ball.
• Positional play, explained: coaching the game with the ball.