The ESCA is an independent award designed and delivered by Ben Bartlett and Elite Soccer. It is not itself a governing-body licence such as a UEFA or USSF badge.

Through our partnership with the League Managers Association, learners will have access to approximately 10 hours of accredited CPD on provision of their FAN.

A companion, not a substitute. The ESCA isn't a replacement for the mandatory qualifications required to coach in a given environment — it's built to sit alongside them. If you already hold your formal badges, the award helps you sharpen and refine the thinking behind them. If you're working toward badges you don't yet have, it deepens your understanding in a way that can support your future learning in those more formal settings.

The Award has been completed by a number of Heads of Coaching and Phase Leads at Premier League and EFL academies. While the ESCA isn't a licence to coach, the quality and strength of the programme is recognised by many decision-makers across the game.

Alumni also use their completed dossier as evidence in interviews and applications — a clear, personal record of what you value, why, and how you coach to it — which is designed to stand out to a technical director or academy director regardless of your role.

No. The ESCA is open to coaches who already hold formal qualifications as well as those who don't yet — there's no mandatory badge required to enrol. What matters more is that you're ready to think honestly about how you coach and why.

No. Unlike qualifications offered through the FA, there are no prerequisites. The award is built for a wide range of coaches — parent-coaches at grassroots level through to academy and professional environments — on the basis that a coach's depth of understanding isn't defined by their environment or job title.

We recognise the challenges many coaches face getting places on licences if they're not coaching 11v11 within professional environments, and we believe that shouldn't be an obstacle to meaningful development.

The award is built for a wide range of coaches — parent-coaches at grassroots level through to academy and professional environments — on the basis that a coach's depth of understanding isn't defined by their environment or job title. Enrolling on the award, you'll encounter a diverse group of learners united by a shared commitment to player and coach development.

The course is delivered entirely online and on demand, so location isn't a barrier to taking part — live sessions are simply timed for convenience across UK and US time zones and are always available to watch back afterwards. We welcome coaches from around the world.

The ESCA is built for coaches at every stage — from grassroots and academy coaches to those working in professional environments. The quality of a coach isn't defined by the environment they work in, so whether you're just starting out or you're an experienced coach looking to sharpen and refine your thinking, the award will help you dig deeper into your own beliefs about the game.

It's equally suited to coaches who already hold formal qualifications and want to deepen their practice, and to those working toward them who want a head start on the thinking those environments will demand.

Plan for around 2 hours a week over the 10–12 week course. It's delivered flexibly and remotely, so you can fit that time in whenever suits you — there's no fixed schedule to work around.

It's more than watch-and-go. Alongside the on-demand workshops, you'll be doing applied work throughout — profiling your players, articulating how your team plays, and starting to log and measure your coaching sessions. This ongoing work is what builds into your dossier, so the thinking and writing happen in parallel with the workshops rather than as a separate block at the end.

If you enrol today, you'll have immediate access to the workshops and resources. You'll also be invited to join the next instructor-led cohort, which starts on August 3rd 2026.

The course runs over about 10 weeks. You'll work through 8 on-demand workshops, each around an hour long, alongside live Q&A sessions with Ben and guest experts. At the end, you'll have two weeks to finalise your dossier if you'd like to submit it for feedback.

You'll keep access to the workshops and resources for a full year, so you can complete the award at whatever pace suits you.

No. You can watch and learn whenever suits you. Live Q&As and expert interviews are scheduled at convenient times for UK and US learners, and every session is made available on demand afterwards.

Beyond the on-demand workshops, you'll have live Q&A access to Ben and the wider team, plus the chance to test your thinking against fellow coaches in your cohort. Peer interaction is a deliberate part of the design — other coaches will challenge and sharpen your ideas, not to make everyone agree, but to help you become clearer on what's right for your own context.

The coaching award is just £495 (inc. VAT) per person, or US$595.

Click Enrol Now and pay by credit or debit card.

If you have a group of 3 or more coaches, email us at esca@elitesoccercoaching.net or click the Contact button.

For group bookings or payment enquiries, email us at esca@elitesoccercoaching.net.

Yes. If you'd like to provide access for your club, contact us at esca@elitesoccercoaching.net and we'll be in touch to talk through your needs.

Individual enrolment is by credit or debit card as a one-time payment.

Yes — we offer a 14-day money-back guarantee. As yet, we haven't had a single request for a refund. We're happy to offer the guarantee because we're confident you'll value the resources and the learning environment.

You'll have access to the course materials for a full 12 months from the day you enrol.

Once you've registered and bought the course, you can log in anywhere on the Elite Soccer website and start elevating your coaching. We'll email you as each workshop is released, with direct links included.

Yes. Completing the award — including your dossier — earns you the Elite Soccer Coaching Award certificate, something you can point to when speaking with clubs, community programmes or prospective employers.

We run two cohorts a year, and our experience has been that this provides ample opportunity to complete the award. The course is designed to fit around the demands of work and home life, so most coaches find the 12 months more than enough time to finish at their own pace.

The ESCA is set apart from other qualifications by building your dossier. Every participant works through the same core modules, but the final assessment is a personal document — over the course period you're guided to build your own body of work.

Rather than assessing you against what we believe is important in the game of soccer, we assess against what you've told us is important to you. As such, there's no grading or pass/fail — it's less about assessment and more about providing feedback to help you refine your approach and focus your ideas.

The dossier empowers you to formalise your beliefs and close the loop between what you value and how you coach. By the end of the assessment, you'll be able to clearly demonstrate what you value, why, and how you go about measuring and affecting it — whether you're coaching the U9s or a first team.

It's a living document you can show to fellow coaches and prospective employers to communicate your beliefs clearly, and one you can keep refining long after the course ends.

No. Your dossier can be as simple or as complex as you think necessary. Some coaches present a slick, polished portfolio; others bring pages of handwritten notes with real depth behind them. It's judged on its depth and coherence, not its appearance — there's no required format or word count.

Throughout the cohort, you'll meet alumni who'll share their own work, giving you a greater sense of what your dossier can look like. There's no set way to complete it.

The dossier isn't graded pass/fail — it's a feedback-driven process designed to help you refine your thinking, not a hurdle to clear. Because of that, the dossier is very much part of the award rather than a separate add-on, so we'd always encourage you to build it alongside the workshops rather than skip it.