‘Management in Professional Football’ certificate programme from the DFL and DFB: Application phase for the second cohort – Scholarships for female participants for the first time

MANAGEMENT IN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL – DFL AND DFB CERTIFICATE

29 April 2021 – For the ‘Management in Professional Football’ certificate programme, DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and the German Football Association (DFB) are offering two scholarships explicitly for female participants for the first time. The future recipients of the scholarships do not have to have previously been employed by a club in the first three tiers of the men’s game or in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga – otherwise, the same admission requirements apply as for all other applicants. This increases the total number of participants in the next cohort to 16 people.

Nominations are open for clubs from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2, 3. Liga and the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga to put forward candidates from their ranks for the 14 places provided until 31 May. In the interests of career opportunities for women in professional football, applications for the two additional funded places are open to any female who is interested. The participation of the scholarship recipients will be financed by the DFL and DFB. The costs for the other 14 participants, who will also be selected by the DFL and DFB within the framework of an application process in the future, will be borne by the respective club or the respective person as before. The 18-month certificate programme is scheduled to begin in September 2021.

The DFL and DFB presented the joint programme last year, which is aimed at future managers on the sporting side. The programme imparts application-oriented knowledge and is intended to contribute to the promotion of employees by the clubs to positions of responsibility from within. The 14 participants from the first course include sporting directors, team managers, department heads and assistants to sports management teams. With the aid of the learning contents, they have been undergoing the best possible preparations to perform tasks as decision-makers in professional football for 18 months since October 2020.

The certificate programme is divided into three areas of competence: Bundesliga expertise, sporting expertise and management expertise. The syllabus also features subjects such as sports law, licensing, team planning, financial management and leadership. The programme will also be using a blended-learning format in the future, which involves a mixture of online phases and days in the classroom. The DFL and the DFB Academy have worked together closely on designing and organizing it. A network of external experts will additionally provide the best possible link to practical application.