At the end of 2016, the FAI released the new coaching pathway. The new coaching pathway was designed to improve the standards of coaching by giving coaches more education. The pathway, published by FAI High Performance Director Ruud Dokter, has seen the introduction of several new badges, most notably the National D and National C Licence.

How to Obtain Your Badges

All of the badges below National D Licence do not require any specific qualifications to partake in them. While not all of them are neccessary to move on to your D Licence, it is highly recommended that you partake in as many as possible. Not only do you learn about different aspects of the game, you link up with coaches and learn stuff from them as well.

National D Licence

This is the first badge that requires specific requirements for you to enter. In order to enter this, you must have completed 40 hours of coaching education. You can check how many hours you have completed by looking at the duration of the workshops. E.g. Kickstart One = 8 hours.

National C Licence

The next step on the pathway is the National C Licence. In order to gain entry to the C Licence, you must have completed the D Licence. However, if you are a current or former Airtricty League player, you can gain entry at this point.

UEFA B Licence

The UEFA B Licence is the first licence that is applicable to Europe. National D and C Licences only apply to Ireland. If you went to England or Wales, you would have to complete their versions in order to do the UEFA B Licence over there. In order to enter the B Licence, you must have completed the C Licence. On completing your C Licence, your assessor will give you a recommended period of time before you should apply for the B Licence.

UEFA A Licence

The UEFA A Licence is the final licence before doing the Pro Licence. The UEFA A Licence allows to coach in any country in Europe and in any league outside of the countries top divisions. E.g Airtricty First Division, Championship, Serie B, etc. In order to gain entry to the A Licence, a coach must have completed the B Licence and have held it for a minimum of 12 months.

UEFA Pro Licence

This is the final step on the ladder. The UEFA Pro Licence allows you to manage any team in any league as it is the highest badge possible. Similarly to entering the A Licence, you must have held your A Licence for a minimum of 12 months. However, unlike the A Licence, you must be coaching at the required level in order to gain entry to the Pro Licence Course.