With football capturing global attention during the World Cup, there has never been a better time to develop your coaching knowledge and skills.

Three people (from left, Glasgow Clyde College sports lecturer Shaun Gallagher, Glasgow Celtic FC manager Martin O'Neill and Glasgow Clyde College curriculum manager David McGurn} stand outdoors on a grassy area, holding a green and white striped Celtic FC jersey and a plaque. The jersey displays the text “Glasgow Clyde College” and “10 YRS,” with hills and a cloudy sky in the background.
Milestone: Glasgow Clyde College sports lecturer Shaun Gallagher, Celtic FC manager Martin O’Neill and Glasgow Clyde College curriculum manager David McGurn celebrate the 10 years of the partnership

As fans watch the world’s best players and coaches compete on the biggest stage, many are inspired to take a closer look at what happens behind the scenes to create successful teams.

The Applied Principles and Practices of Football Coaching unit – available as part of Glasgow Clyde College’s NQ Football Performance and Coaching course at SCQF level 6 – offers the opportunity to do exactly that.

Learn about effective football coaching

Written by curriculum manager David McGurn and sports lecturer Shaun Gallagher, the unit has been designed for aspiring coaches, current practitioners, players and football enthusiasts.

It provides a practical and engaging introduction to the key principles that underpin effective coaching.

Learners explore how to plan and deliver football sessions, analyse technical and tactical performance and create learning environments that help players develop.

By combining theory with practical coaching experiences, participants gain the confidence to apply modern coaching methods in real-world situations.

Delivered with Celtic Soccer Academy

The 18-week NQ course, which includes the coaching unit, is delivered in partnership with Celtic Soccer Academy.

Learners develop their technical abilities and tactical game via weekly coaching sessions from the Celtic Soccer Academy and earn a range of SFA Awards along the way.

As this is a pathway course, it can also lead to further studies or even possible opportunities with Celtic Football Club, Celtic Soccer Academy or the Celtic Foundation.

Sports lecturer Shaun is proud of the learning and career progression offered to the students at Glasgow Clyde. He said “Over the years it’s progressed from an SCQF level 4 programme, to level 6, now level 7 and potentially onto level 8, going from NQ through to HNC and possibly HND. The way the students have developed under the stewardship of the coaches at Celtic has been incredible.”

Five people wearing matching black Celtic FC jackets and tracksuit bottoms stand arm in arm on a grass football pitch. Goalposts and trees are visible in the background under a bright blue sky, with sunlight casting long shadows across the field.
Dream team: The partnership with Celtic has been hugely successful

To date, 30 graduates from the course have progressed into employment with Celtic FC.

NQ student Barry Templeton praised the course. He said: “I want to be a head coach and possibly start my own football academy. Since being on the course, the number of experienced coaches we’ve met has been great. The amount of experience, the amount of tactical knowledge, the everyday workings of a football club. So … it’s been great to get to know all that.”

Award-winning

The Soccer Academy has been partnered with Glasgow Clyde College for the past 10 years and the collaboration has scooped the Partnership Award at the recent Herald Education awards.

As the World Cup inspires the next generation of footballers, it can also inspire the next generation of coaches. This course offers a fantastic opportunity to turn that inspiration into meaningful learning and professional development.

Whether you’re hoping to begin a career in football coaching, enhance your current practice, or simply deepen your understanding of the game, this programme provides the knowledge and practical skills needed to support players at every level.

Find out more and submit your application now ahead of the course start date in August 2026.

Discover how the SCQF level 6 qualification compares on our interactive framework.

Glossary Term

Authority

Appears at Level 12 only where it is used in the phrase ‘demonstrate substantial authority’, reflecting a recognised high level and depth of expertise/expert knowledge and understanding, along with confidence. It does not mean ‘exercise authority over staff and resources’ etc, as that could clearly apply at earlier levels.

Glossary Term

Exercise

Used in connection with management and/or supervisory responsibility, denotes a requirement of a formal, substantive role.

Glossary Term

Directive

Applied to ‘supervision’, signifies a task or activity that is guided.

Glossary Term

Graphical Data

Encompasses maps, plans, diagrams, tables and graphs.

Glossary Term

Synthesis

Combine discrete elements into a coherent whole.

Glossary Term

Analysis

Examine in detail with a view to explanation and interpretation.

Glossary Term

Present

Set out, put forward, deliver information using a variety of mediums as appropriate.

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Hypothetical

Supposed, assumed for the sake of argument.

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Straightforward

Clear and uncomplicated activity, but not as demanding or systematic and therefore not as advanced as ‘routine’.

Glossary Term

Creativity

Often used in combination with ‘originality’. There is overlap in definition, but the defining characteristic of creativity appears to be imagination.

Glossary Term

Originality

Often used in combination with ‘creativity’. There is overlap in definition, but the defining characteristic of originality appears to be independence.

Glossary Term

Professional

Used throughout as an adjective and applied to terms including level, skills, techniques, practices, contexts, and issues where it bears broad interpretation as ‘behaving appropriately/doing things properly and well and to notions of accepted, (including externally) prescribed standards’, as well as narrow, relating to a specific occupation designated as a profession. In this latter sense, the term applies in all contexts including academic study, eg footnoting properly.

Glossary Term

Unfamiliar

New territory for an activity.

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Routine

Used as an adjective throughout and applied to terms including skills, tasks, elements, practices, contexts, methods and problems where it describes activity that is standard, usual, unvarying, customary, common.

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Everyday

Slightly more advanced and beyond personal but a known experience/activity encountered/applied regularly - less advanced than ‘familiar’.

Glossary Term

Familiar

Often encountered or experienced; common; something one has a good knowledge of - more advanced than ‘personal’ and ‘everyday’, not as advanced as ‘routine’.

Glossary Term

Personal

An experience relating only or primarily to the person – one would expect to start here then widen out into the rest of the world, so not as advanced as ‘familiar’.

Glossary Term

Critical

Fully informed, capable of supporting in-depth analysis and assessment.

Glossary Term

Discerning

Using judgement to recognise differences but not fully equipped/informed to analyse and discuss them in depth, so less advanced than critical.

Glossary Term

Awareness

Consciousness, including a background consciousness. Can be a starting point for further exploration.

Glossary Term

Appreciation

A sense, perception, a hold, fix or grasp of one or more of the various aspects of a subject/discipline/sector.

Glossary Term

Understanding

A thorough and firm grasp of a subject/discipline/sector or an element or elements of it, derived from education/study, experience and reasoning in appropriate combination. Can be defined as ‘know why’, as opposed to ‘know that’. More holistic knowledge of processes and contexts, so more advanced than appreciation and knowledge.

Glossary Term

Simple

Undemanding activity not necessarily part of a formal structure - not as advanced as ‘basic’.

Glossary Term

Knowledge

Facts, ideas, theories and concepts in a subject/discipline/sector acquired through experience and/or education – a surer grasp than appreciation so more advanced.

Glossary Term

Basic

Activity is early stepping stone on a structure or framework that can be built upon – more advanced than ‘simple’.