How to become a football coach in London
This page is for somebody who wants to start coaching. If you are looking for coaching for your child instead, our guide to private football coaching for children covers what to check, and you can browse coaches directly.
The useful distinction is what is national and what is local, because the qualification route and the support around it sit in different places.
Course names, prices and requirements change. Use England Football Learning for current qualification detail rather than relying on an older County FA article or an old version of this page.
Information checked on
National qualifications, local support
National coaching qualifications are run through England Football Learning (opens in a new tab). County FAs may provide local coach development around that national pathway, but they do not run the national qualification route.
First, establish which associations your club is affiliated to
London is more complicated than a single County FA area. The capital sits across six geographically defined association areas - London, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex and Surrey - and clubs can hold membership with more than one association. The Amateur Football Alliance (opens in a new tab) is non-geographical, so it can sit alongside a club's geographical County FA membership. Our London clubs page explains the overlap in more detail.
For a coach, the practical question is not 'which one County FA am I under?'. Ask which association or associations your club is affiliated to, then check the eligibility rules for the local coach-development programme you want to use.
Before paying for a membership or booking CPD, check which association is running it and whether the programme is open to you. Your club can confirm its affiliations; the programme page should confirm its own eligibility.
What local support is available
The current London FA coaches hub (opens in a new tab) lists an annual Coach Membership, London CPD events, FA Mentoring, coaching opportunities and 100FC, its women-and-girls coaching route. The detailed membership page still carries an older season label, so use the current hub as the starting point and check the live terms before paying or applying.
London FA's mentoring page (opens in a new tab) describes face-to-face and bespoke one-to-one support for grassroots coaches. Its 100FC page remains linked from the current coaches hub, but the detailed page contains older application dates, so check whether applications are currently open rather than assuming they are.
Middlesex FA has its own coach-development support page (opens in a new tab) and a live coaching opportunities noticeboard (opens in a new tab) with current 2026 vacancies. Its CPD page still displays 2025/26 event information, so use it as a support route rather than as evidence of a current 2026/27 schedule.
The other associations whose areas overlap London may also run their own coach-development activity. Ask your club which affiliations are relevant, then check the current association programme rather than assuming one London-wide offer applies.
Two questions are worth asking your club early: does it have a coaching lead who can point you towards club-specific development, and does it contribute towards any course or check costs?
The first coaching qualification, and what comes before it
EE Playmaker is useful, but it is not a prerequisite for Introduction to Coaching Football.
EE Playmaker (opens in a new tab) is a free online introduction, open from age 14. It prepares you to support football sessions. It does not by itself qualify you to lead them, and you do not have to complete it before moving to the coaching qualification.
To enrol on Introduction to Coaching Football (opens in a new tab), you must be at least 16 and hold an in-date Safeguarding Children qualification plus an accepted FA medical qualification such as Introduction to First Aid in Football.
Introduction to Coaching Football (opens in a new tab) is the first coaching qualification on the current pathway and is delivered online.
The UEFA C Diploma (opens in a new tab) is the next formal coaching qualification after Introduction to Coaching Football for coaches who are ready for it and meet its additional prerequisites.
Our becoming-a-coach guide covers the wider club process.
Checks and safeguarding
They are separate questions, and they are easy to blur.
If you are going to be a named manager or coach of a youth team at an affiliated club, the FA's 2026/27 affiliation requirements (opens in a new tab) apply: all named youth-team managers and coaches require an in-date, accepted DBS and the Safeguarding Children Course. The DBS application is handled through the club process.
The FA also puts responsibility on clubs and leagues to ensure that people who require a check hold an FA-accepted, in-date disclosure issued within the last three years (opens in a new tab). Use that FA page for the football process, not as the statutory eligibility test.
What level of check a role can be eligible for is a separate statutory question. Current government guidance for sport (opens in a new tab) bases that on what the role involves and how often the activity happens. From 1 September 2026, the supervision exemption was removed from regulated activity with children (opens in a new tab), so supervision no longer keeps a role outside regulated activity where the activity and frequency conditions are met. The change does not mean every role involving children becomes regulated activity, and it does not itself create a universal requirement for a check.
If you intend to coach independently and charge for it, the route can be different again. Our guide to setting up as a self-employed coach covers that position.
A County FA can explain its own football process and what an affiliated club needs to do. It does not decide statutory DBS eligibility.
Where to coach
There are several routes in, depending on how much responsibility you want to take on.
A club near you, perhaps your own child's team. Find a club in London and ask whether it needs support with an existing team or a new one.
Starting something. If there is no suitable club where you live, our start-a-club guide explains what setting one up involves.
Coaching independently. If you want to charge for sessions, our guide to setting up as a self-employed coach covers the checks, insurance and business side. FindMeFootball coaching listings are currently free.
Volunteering off the pitch. Clubs also need welfare and administrative roles; our guide to the club welfare officer covers what that role involves.
What you will be coaching
Youth formats changed from the start of the 2026/27 season, with smaller formats played later through the pathway than before. England Football's FutureFit guidance (opens in a new tab) explains the change. Our England age-group rules guide sets out the current maximum formats by age group.
Find a club in London
Browse the clubs we list across London and contact them directly. If you are already coaching independently, FindMeFootball coaching listings are currently free.
Common questions
Which County FA or associations apply to my club in London?
There may not be one single answer. London overlaps six geographically defined association areas, clubs can hold membership with more than one association, and the Amateur Football Alliance is non-geographical. Ask your club which associations it is affiliated to, then check the eligibility rules for the local programme you want to use. Our London clubs page explains the geography.
Do the County FAs run the coaching courses?
No. National coaching qualifications are booked through England Football Learning. County FAs may provide local development, CPD, mentoring and other support around that pathway.
Do I need EE Playmaker before Introduction to Coaching Football?
No. EE Playmaker is an optional entry-level supporting course. If you are 16 or over and already hold the in-date safeguarding and medical prerequisites, you can book Introduction to Coaching Football without completing Playmaker first.
Do I need a qualification before I start helping?
Helping and leading are different things. EE Playmaker prepares you to support sessions and does not by itself qualify you to lead them. Introduction to Coaching Football is the first coaching qualification on the pathway. If a club is asking you to take a lead role, ask what role it is appointing you to and what qualifications, safeguarding and checks that role requires.
What does it cost?
We do not publish course prices here because they change. Check the current England Football Learning course page and any funding opportunities shown there, then ask your club whether it contributes towards course or check costs. Local County FA membership and CPD arrangements vary, so check the current programme before paying or booking.
I coached years ago. Are my qualifications still valid?
Check rather than assume. Course names and requirements have changed, safeguarding qualifications need renewing, and an FA-accepted DBS used for the club process must be in date. Check your current learning record and ask the club what the role now requires; the relevant association can explain its own football process.
Can my teenager coach?
EE Playmaker is open from age 14 and is a supporting course; on its own it does not allow the holder to lead football sessions. Introduction to Coaching Football has a minimum age of 16, and nobody under 16 can be asked to apply for a DBS check.