Coaching badges explained: the pathway, what each one costs, and how to pay less

The short version

• EE Playmaker is the free entry course, from age 14. It is not a prerequisite for anything.
• Introduction to Coaching Football is the first coaching qualification, from age 16, and it has two prerequisites: an in-date safeguarding qualification and an FA medical qualification.
• The UEFA C Diploma comes next. It replaced the old FA Level 2.
• Then UEFA B, UEFA A and UEFA Pro, each with its own entry requirements and application window.
• The Partially Funded Places Programme can reduce the cost of Introduction to Coaching Football, the UEFA C and the UEFA B. At UEFA C, coaches at affiliated grassroots clubs can apply for the current £150 Grassroots Affiliated Discount. Funding is limited and you can use only one funding programme per season.

The pathway, in order

England Football Learning (opens in a new tab) runs all of it.

• EE Playmaker. Free, online, from age 14 (opens in a new tab). It prepares you to support a named coach, and England Football Learning says a Playmaker cannot lead sessions on their own. Useful, but not a prerequisite for the coaching qualification.
• Introduction to Coaching Football. The first coaching qualification (opens in a new tab), minimum age 16, online, six modules and three webinars over about four weeks, with up to twelve months from purchase to finish it. You need an in-date Safeguarding Children qualification and an FA medical qualification such as Introduction to First Aid in Football before you enrol.
• UEFA C Diploma. The next step (opens in a new tab), blended virtual and face-to-face learning with FA coach developers over about 16 to 20 weeks. It replaced the FA Level 2 in Coaching Football, which is why both names are still in circulation. Entry needs more than the qualification below it: you must live in England, hold current first aid and safeguarding, and be actively coaching players who train regularly and play in a season-long competition.
• UEFA B Diploma. The next formal step (opens in a new tab), running about 9 to 12 months, with its own application window each season. Entry needs the UEFA C or an accepted older Level 2 route, with a UEFA C conversion where England Football Learning requires it; at least twelve months of head or assistant coaching experience after UEFA C; a minimum age of 18; residence in England; current first aid and safeguarding; and active coaching in a season-long competition. You must be coaching players aged 12 or above, or coaching in a boys' or girls' professional academy environment.
• UEFA A Diploma. About twelve months (opens in a new tab), minimum age 18. You need the UEFA B held for at least a year before the course starts, plus at least a year as a head or assistant coach in 11v11 football after gaining UEFA B.
• UEFA Pro Diploma. About eighteen months (opens in a new tab), needing the UEFA A held for at least twelve months, showing on your FAN, plus specified full-time experience in the professional game.

The Advanced Youth Award (opens in a new tab) sits alongside the main pathway rather than on it, and there are separate streams for goalkeeping and futsal. The UEFA B Fitness Diploma (opens in a new tab) is still in pilot, with the full programme due to launch in 2027.

What it costs

Prices come from the England Football Learning course pages, checked on 24 September 2026.

• EE Playmaker: free.
• Introduction to Coaching Football: £100. Its two prerequisites cost £30 each, so a coach starting from nothing pays £160 in total.
• UEFA C Diploma: £650 full price. The current Grassroots Affiliated Discount can reduce that to £500 for an eligible affiliated-club coach if the funding is awarded.
• UEFA B Diploma: £1,250.
• UEFA A Diploma: £4,150.
• UEFA Pro Diploma: £14,000.

Ask your club, league or County FA whether they offer any support or bursaries towards course costs before paying yourself.

The funding routes

England Football Learning runs a Partially Funded Places Programme (opens in a new tab), funded by Sport England and England Football Learning. This national programme covers Introduction to Coaching Football, the UEFA C and the UEFA B. It describes itself as funding 85 per cent of the course fee, and publishes what a successful applicant actually pays:

• Introduction to Coaching Football: £136 funded, £24 to pay. That covers the bundle, including the safeguarding and first aid prerequisites, and applies even if you already hold them.
• UEFA C Diploma: £555 funded, £95 to pay.
• UEFA B Diploma: £1,062.50 funded, £187.50 to pay.
• Places are limited. Funding covers 15 per cent of places on Introduction to Coaching Football and 20 per cent on the UEFA C and UEFA B.
• Who it is for. Applications are welcomed from female coaches, coaches from ethnically diverse backgrounds, coaches from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and coaches with disabilities.
• How it works. Complete the funding eligibility form, which takes about ten minutes, and you get a response within five weeks. A successful application gives you a discount code to redeem within two months.

There is a second route. Chase fully funded places (opens in a new tab), run with England Football Learning's banking partner, cover the whole cost of Introduction to Coaching Football or the UEFA C if the applicant is awarded a place. The programme is aimed at people for whom cost is a barrier and has its own financial eligibility criteria.

For the Introduction and UEFA C funding routes above, two rules matter: a coach can use only one funding programme per season, and you should not buy a place before the funding decision because a discount cannot be applied afterwards and refunds may not be available.

Senior courses have their own funding at application time. The UEFA Pro page offered a partially funded application alongside its 2026 application window. The UEFA A page currently invites coaches to register their interest and shows no open application or funding offer. Senior funding follows the senior course application windows rather than the grassroots programme above, so check the current course page when applications reopen.

The £150 discount for grassroots coaches

If you coach at an affiliated grassroots club, you can apply for the current £150 Grassroots Affiliated Discount on the UEFA C Diploma, bringing the £650 course fee to £500 if awarded. You need your club's National Club ID when you apply. The demographic criteria used for the Partially Funded Places Programme are not the test for this route, but normal UEFA C prerequisites still apply and all funding is subject to availability.

The three UEFA C routes are alternatives rather than a stack: £500 through the grassroots discount, £95 through a partially funded place, or £0 through Chase if the relevant funding is awarded. Only one funding programme can be used in a season.

Timing, and why it matters

• The funding forms for Introduction to Coaching Football and the UEFA C Diploma are open throughout the season, or until the funding runs out.
• The UEFA B funding form opens and closes with the UEFA B application window, and for 2026/27 that window has closed.
• As checked on 24 September 2026, UEFA A applications are not currently open, and UEFA Pro applications closed on 31 July 2026. Check each course page for the next window.
• Discount codes expire two months after they are issued, so apply when you are ready to book rather than well in advance.
• Apply for funding before you pay. Discounts cannot be added afterwards.

Old names you will still hear

• FA Level 1 was replaced by Introduction to Coaching Football.
• FA Level 2 was replaced by the UEFA C Diploma.

If somebody at your club talks about doing "your Level 1", they mean the introductory coaching qualification. The old names are not on the current course list.

Where this fits

A badge is only part of what a club needs from a coach. Our guide to becoming a grassroots coach covers the checks, safeguarding and the club side, and first aid in grassroots football explains the medical qualifications and how long they last.

Elsewhere in the UK

These are England Football Learning courses. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own coach education through their own associations, and their qualifications sit within the same UEFA framework.