First aid in grassroots football: which FA course you need

The short version

• Introduction to First Aid in Football is the starting point: online, £30, about three hours, minimum age 16, valid for three years.
• It meets the FA medical prerequisite for Introduction to Coaching Football.
• For someone who wants a practical first aid qualification, Emergency First Aid in Football is the next step: a one-day face-to-face course, £105, minimum age 18.
• Emergency Medical First Aid in Football and the trauma courses above it are for people providing more advanced care.
• Once you enrol on the introductory course, you have three months to finish it.

Introduction to First Aid in Football

The FA's introductory course (opens in a new tab) is the entry point on The FA's medical pathway. It is online, you work through it at your own pace, and The FA describes it as suitable for anyone who wants to understand first aid care for players of all ages.

• Cost and format. £30, online, about three hours and ten minutes in total.
• Minimum age. 16.
• What it covers. The role of a first aider, the A-E approach to an injured or ill player, sudden cardiac arrest including CPR and using a defibrillator, medical emergencies, concussion and The FA's concussion guidelines, and a final assessment. Each module unlocks the next.
• How long it lasts. The certificate is valid for three years, and you can go back into the course at any time to refresh.
• The deadline. Since 1 March 2026, learners have three months from enrolling to complete it.

Introduction to First Aid in Football moved to The FA's My Learning platform on 9 December 2025. If you started it before then and did not finish, that progress did not transfer and you will need to start again for the completion to be recorded. Learning you had already completed stays on your FAN.

Emergency First Aid in Football

Emergency First Aid in Football (opens in a new tab) is the next practical step on the pathway. It is a one-day, face-to-face course that goes beyond generic first aid with football-specific emergency care. The FA lists coaches, team managers, parents, teachers, volunteers and carers among the people it is for.

• Cost and format. £105, a single day, face to face.
• Minimum age. 18.
• Who it is for. The FA lists coaches, team managers, parents, teachers, volunteers and carers.
• What it covers. Among other things: duty of care, opening an airway in a contact sport, emergency action planning, basic life support with a defibrillator, concussion management, the football first aid kit, record keeping, fractures, soft tissue injuries, spinal injuries and helping an ambulance crew, with paediatric elements throughout. It includes mandatory e-learning modules on emergency action planning, sudden cardiac arrest and concussion.

Courses run at venues around the country and are booked through England Football Learning. Clubs can also ask The FA about a course delivered for their own volunteers.

Beyond that

Emergency Medical First Aid in Football (opens in a new tab) is the third course on The FA's medical pathway, aimed at people with more experience who assist medical staff with more advanced immediate care. It has to be renewed every three years, and to stay in date you retake it in the final three months before it expires. It currently costs £235. It can lead on to the trauma medical management courses.

The FA's medical course list (opens in a new tab) also includes short courses on sudden cardiac arrest, concussion guidelines and medical emergency action plans.

Who needs which

• A coach heading for Introduction to Coaching Football (opens in a new tab) must hold an in-date FA medical qualification, such as Introduction to First Aid in Football or higher, before enrolling and completing it. Accepted alternatives apply in defined circumstances, covered below. Our guide to becoming a grassroots coach covers the rest of that pathway.
• At an England Football Accredited club, every youth team needs at least one coach or manager holding Introduction to Coaching Football, an in-date Introduction to First Aid in Football and the Safeguarding Children course.
• A tournament organiser needs first aid cover planned into the day. Our guide to running a tournament on the day covers that in its own right.
• Introduction to First Aid in Football is open to anyone aged 16 or over. Whether a volunteer needs a particular qualification depends on the role they are taking and on any club, competition or accreditation requirement.

A course certificate is not a first aid plan. Where the kit is kept, where the nearest defibrillator is, who calls for help and how the ambulance gets to the pitch are all things a club decides for itself, and the courses above teach how to plan them.

Keeping it in date

An expired qualification does not satisfy a requirement for an in-date FA medical qualification, whether that is the coaching prerequisite or an accreditation requirement. Check the expiry date on your FA record and book the next course before it runs out. For Emergency Medical First Aid in Football, the renewal window is the final three months before expiry, so a late booking can leave a gap.

Elsewhere in the UK

These are courses run by The FA for football in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own coaching and first aid requirements through their own associations.