Coaching convention boost

Three more UEFA national associations have been admitted to the UEFA Convention on the Mutual Recognition of Coaching Qualifications at one of its three levels.

A level
Azerbaijan, Belarus and Moldova joined the convention at its A level, following the UEFA Executive Committee's approval of their admission at its meeting in Zagreb, Croatia. Also in Zagreb, Estonia's national association signed the convention at Pro level.

Free movement
The convention's objective is to protect the coaching profession and smooth the way for the free movement of qualified coaches within Europe – in accordance with European law. UEFA also promotes the exchange of coach education and encourages its 53 member associations to share technical knowledge with the overall benefit of European football in mind.

Upgrading coach education
The convention came into being in 1997 and aims for the upgrading of coach education within the European national associations. Over the last decade, the convention has continued to expand throughout the continent. "To produce outstanding players and enable them to deploy their talents to the full in a team context, it also takes outstanding coaches," says UEFA. "Such coaches do not arise out of nowhere – they are first and foremost the product of a high-quality coach education system.

Safeguarding quality
"It is on precisely this point that UEFA focuses its efforts in the area of coach education, in order to safeguard and further improve the quality of European football. And one of the core elements of these efforts is the UEFA Convention on the Mutual Recognition of Coaching Qualifications."

Three levels
Minimum criteria have been laid down in the convention for three training levels (B, A and Pro). If any UEFA member association meets these criteria, it can accede to the convention. Currently, 52 of the 53 associations are members of the convention (38 at all three levels, 12 at A and B levels, and two at B level) – while UEFA's newest association, Montenegro, is also a candidate for accession. Almost 159,000 coaches in Europe have UEFA-endorsed licences.

Integral part
UEFA's convention reflects the desire to have compulsory coaching licences in all member associations. The goal is that all teams – and professional clubs in particular – should employ only coaches who have undergone coach education and hold an appropriate licence. This is very much in the spirit of the UEFA club licensing system and has been incorporated as an integral part of the system.