The Performance Football Coaching (Distance Learning) MSc course at St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU) is partnering with the Lao Football Federation to deliver an upcoming coaching course.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Professional Coaching Diploma is the first of its kind to be offered by the Lao Football Federation to Laotian coaches. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in the majority of countries and territories in Asia.
The course takes chosen modules from the St Mary’s Performance Football Coaching MSc degree have been chosen and adapts them to support the coaches’ understanding of skill acquisition and football coaching cultures.
As part of this collaboration, St Mary’s has been designated an ‘education partner’ by the Lao Football Federation.
Speaking on the launch of the course, Head of Coach Learning at the Lao Football Federation Mohammad Herman Zailani said, “By partnering with a prestigious education institution such as St Mary's, we are leveraging into their expertise and exposing our coaches to contemporary methodologies that meet the demands of modern football. Above all, the partnership with St Mary’s gives our course candidates confidence in the value of the programme. The AFC Professional Coaching Diploma represents the pinnacle of coaching accreditation awarded by the Asian Football Confederation.”
MSc Performance Football Coaching Course Lead at St Mary’s Ashley Gumbrell added, “St Mary’s University and its Performance Football Coaching MSc is delighted to be supporting the inaugural Pro-Diploma course. It is a testament to the knowledge of our staff and their delivery methods, that St Mary’s has been chosen as an education partner.
“The fact we will be delivering content directly from the degree and using it to support the development of world leading coaches from across the world, goes to show how well St Mary’s is thought of within the industry.”