The University of Bath is to launch a postgraduate course in football medicine under a unique collaboration with the sport’s world governing body.
The applied MSc in Football Medicine in association with FIFA kicks off this September and is aimed at already qualified doctors.
A part-time, distance-learning course, it will draw on the university’s world-renown sporting prowess and established research strengths across sports and exercise medicine.
Designed to be completed remotely over three to five years, with residentials in Bath and Zurich, the course will provide students with detailed knowledge of the fundamentals of sports and exercise medicine and how this can be applied specifically to football.
It will equip would-be football medics in the UK and around the world with highly desirable skills -whether their interests are focused on professional performance environments or on the grassroots game.
The director of studies for the course, Dr Carly McKay from the university’s Department for Health, pictured, said the course aimed to significantly improve access to high-quality, postgraduate education for football medicine internationally.
“Through Bath’s world-leading experts and FIFA’s industry insights, students on the course will learn from the latest research and developments within football medicine, building key skills that will enable them to apply their learning to pitchside clinical practice,” she said.
“We’re very much looking forward to welcoming the first cohort of students onto this course from September 2022.”
FIFA director of medical, Dr Andrew Massey, added: “The University of Bath has a fantastic global reputation in tertiary education and its sports medicine courses are world-leading.
“This is a project that we have been planning for the last two years and we are thrilled that it has come to fruition,” commented
“We hope that it provides the next educational step, after the online FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine, for doctors seeking to increase their knowledge in this area.
“Continuous professional development is crucial for a doctor to maintain their skills and hopefully this course is an opportunity for everyone involved in football medicine to help grow the profession and improve the health parameters for all those who wish to play football at all levels.”
Bath is one of the UK’s leading universities for sport and last year was named in the top ten globally. Its students benefit from a wealth of sports opportunities supported by state-of-the-art facilities, including its £35m Sports Training Village.
From football to fencing and swimming to skeleton, many of its students combine studies with training and competition in elite sports.
The university is currently home to more than 250 international athletes who, along with leading sports organisations such as Pentathlon GB and British Triathlon, have chosen to make its campus their training base.
Many Bath students competed at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games last year, at the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games this February and March and will be part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in July and August.
