Foundation Certificate in Soccer Coaching, Periodisation & Game Model Development
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This Course Enables You To:
- Build training weeks with clear structure, not random sessions
- Align technical, tactical, and physical work for match-day performance
- Apply tactical periodisation in practice, without getting lost in theory
- Develop players mentally, physically, and tactically in every session
- Plan training with clarity and confidence, knowing what your team needs and when
- Design sessions that transfer to matches, not just look good in training
Course Details
All ISSPF courses are developed and delivered by a faculty of elite coaches who work at the highest levels of the game, spanning every continent and all FIFA Confederations
The Foundation Certificate in Soccer Coaching, Periodisation & Game Model Development is designed for coaches who want a clear, repeatable framework for planning training, developing a game model, and improving match performance – not just more drills or isolated ideas.
Rather than treating physical, tactical, technical, and psychological elements as separate topics, this course shows you how professional environments integrate everything into one coherent system. Every module is focused on helping you make better coaching decisions – from how you structure training weeks, to how you design sessions that actually transfer to matches.
The emphasis is on applied understanding, not academic theory. You don’t need a background in sports science to benefit from this course – the concepts are explained in coach-focused language and grounded in real coaching practice.
Who This Course Is For
This certification is best suited for coaches who want to professionalise the way they plan, train, and prepare teams, including:
Youth and academy-pathway coaches who want a clearer framework for structuring training and long-term development.
Semi-professional and emerging professional coaches looking to improve planning, periodisation, and tactical clarity.
Coaches working in high-commitment environments (multiple sessions per week) who want training to be more intentional and integrated.
Ambitious grassroots coaches preparing to step into academy or performance-focused roles.
Coaches who feel they are “guessing” too often and want a system they can rely on.
Who This Course Is Not For
This course may not be the right fit if you are:
Looking for a library of ready-made drills to copy.
Coaching purely recreational teams with minimal training time.
Unwilling to study, reflect, and apply concepts in your own environment.
This certification is about thinking better as a coach, not shortcuts.
Most coaches don’t have a weekly plan – they have a collection of sessions. By the end of the Foundation Certificate in Soccer Coaching, Periodisation & Game Model Development, you will know how to turn sessions into a system.
You will have:
A clear understanding of how to structure training weeks and longer training blocks with intent, progression, and purpose.
A practical, repeatable framework for building, coaching, and evolving a game model – not just choosing formations.
Confidence in why you plan and train the way you do, rather than relying on instinct or copying drills.
The ability to clearly explain your coaching methodology to players, parents, staff, or directors – using a shared language.
A flexible system you can adapt to different teams, age groups, competitive levels, and environments without losing clarity or structure.
The ability to make better coaching decisions week-to-week because you understand how sessions, weeks, and match demands connect.
Accreditation & Professional Recognition
This certification is formally accredited and recognised by football federations, universities, and governing bodies.
Study hours may be used toward professional development, licence revalidation, and formal accreditation pathways
(depending on your governing body), including recognition across UEFA federations and CONCACAF, plus endorsement by
respected institutions.
Course Modules
The framework is delivered through Eight integrated modules, each with a clear purpose in the coaching process. Explore the course modules below to see how the framework develops across the season, the game, and the training week.
TRAINING ENVIRONMENT - PART A
Delivered by Javier Mallo
This module gives you a clear framework for planning training over weeks and months – not just session to session.
You’ll learn how to structure training load, manage intensity, and sequence work so players adapt, recover, and peak at the right time.
Instead of guessing when to push or pull back, you’ll understand why training weeks are built the way they are in professional environments.
By the end of this module, you’ll be able to plan weekly microcycles with intent, balance training demands with competition, and adjust load confidently based on what your team actually needs.
Delivered by Andreja Varicak
This module breaks down back-four systems so you can choose and coach them with intention.
You’ll explore how different back-four formations function in and out of possession, what problems they solve, and what demands they place on players.
Rather than copying a formation because it’s familiar, you’ll learn how to align system choice with your game model and squad profile.
By the end of this module, you’ll be able to explain why you play a certain system – and how to train it properly.
Delivered by Andreja Varicak
This module focuses on back-three and hybrid systems and when they make sense.
You’ll explore how these systems function tactically, what problems they solve, and how they change roles and responsibilities across the team.
You’ll also learn how to adapt systems without losing your core game principles.
By the end of this module, you’ll be able to evaluate system changes confidently and understand how structural choices affect both training and match performance.
Delivered by Andreja Varicak
This module focuses on back-three and hybrid systems and when they make sense.
You’ll explore how these systems function tactically, what problems they solve, and how they change roles and responsibilities across the team.
You’ll also learn how to adapt systems without losing your core game principles.
By the end of this module, you’ll be able to evaluate system changes confidently and understand how structural choices affect both training and match performance.
Delivered by Dr. Walid Briki
This module helps you integrate mental preparation into everyday coaching – not treat it as a separate add-on.
You’ll learn how confidence, focus, and decision-making fluctuate across the season and how to align psychological demands with physical and tactical load.
This allows you to support players mentally without guesswork or generic motivation.
By the end of this module, you’ll be able to plan training with psychological demands in mind and create environments that support consistent performance.
This module helps you understand the game as a sequence of connected phases – not isolated moments.
You’ll learn how teams move between attacking, defending, and transitional moments, and how to design training that targets these phases deliberately.
This allows you to stop running generic possession or pressing drills and start training specific game behaviours.
By the end of this module, you’ll be able to structure sessions around real match moments, improve tactical clarity, and help players understand when and why certain actions matter.
Delivered by Lizzie Fluke
This module connects long-term planning with day-to-day coaching reality.
You’ll learn how to translate your game model and periodisation principles into actual training plans – from weekly structures to individual sessions.
This bridges the gap between “knowing the theory” and “running effective training on the pitch.”
By the end of this module, you’ll be able to design training weeks that flow logically, support match performance, and avoid the chaos of reactive planning.
Delivered by Eelco Schattorie
This module shifts technical coaching away from repetition and toward effectiveness.
You’ll learn how technical execution changes under pressure, how decision-making affects skill execution, and how to coach technical detail within game-realistic contexts.
This allows you to move beyond isolated drills and improve how skills show up on match day.
By the end of this module, you’ll be able to coach technique with greater precision and help players perform skills when it actually matters.
Delivered by Dr. Adam Owen
This module shows you how to use game-based training to develop fitness, tactics, and decision-making at the same time — not in separate blocks.
You’ll learn how different game formats shape physical and tactical demands, and how to manipulate pitch size, numbers, and rules to get specific performance outcomes.
This removes guesswork from session design and ensures your training reflects the real demands of match play.
By the end of this module, you’ll be able to design game-based sessions that consistently transfer to match-day performance.
GAME ENVIRONMENT - PART B
Delivered by Jyri Niemenen
In Module 1, you’ll look at scanning & field information, game references & decision making processes. You’ll also explore tactical understanding, training the player and structuring the content.
Delivered by Ivan Kovčić
In Module 3, you’ll look at both team and individual development whilst also learning more about isolated and integrated training. You’ll also discover how to detect problems with references and implement specific content.
Delivered by Andy Quy
In Module 5, you’ll look into the demands of the Goalkeeper during set-plays including the key physical components, training and specific power development.
Delivered by Ivan Kovčić
In Module 7, you’ll look at specific soccer language and quality goalkeeping actions You’ll also look at in-training and opponent analysis, finding out how to be ready to adapt and develop.
Delivered by Matt Newton
In Module 9, you’ll look at the physical competencies of the Goalkeeper and injury epidemiology & etiology. Find out how to assess injury risk and strength and condition your programme.
Delivered by Lee Baxter
In Module 2, you’ll look at the key principles & objectives of a Goalkeeper coach. Find out more about the ‘Keepers Corner’ – a holistic approach and how to manage your working process and surroundings.
Delivered by Fabian Otte
In Module 4, you’ll look at goalkeeper skill & performance training research, findings and discussion. Find out which specific match warm up phases to use and why.
Delivered by Dr. T-Ecken
In Module 6, you’ll look at the importance of resilience & adversity in high-performance soccer. Find out how to use the resilience framework and how to avoid negative performance.
Delivered by Andy Quy
In Module 8, you’ll look at the demands of the Goalkeeper during set-plays. Explore the key physical components, functional training and primary movements.
ISSPF COURSE REVIEWS
Ready to coach with clarity, confidence, and results?
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What you get with your enrolment:
- Full Foundation Certification (8 modules)
- Professional Certificate on completion
- Self-paced learning (start immediately)
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Course Certificate
Improvement Guarantee
Steve McClaren
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“This is by far the most innovative style of learning that I’ve seen in this digital era. The breadth of topics covered, combined with the level of detail and insights makes this a must learning environment for any coach who is working or wants to get into the game and progress to the highest levels.”
Manchester Utd, Middlesborough, FC Twente, Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest, Derby County, England
Ringo Wu
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“ISSPF have managed to provide our soccer coaching staff within our college team with a 1st class opportunity to learn & apply some key performance coaching aspects. The opportunity to personally develop & track the staff’s progress through their assisted e-learning process is very impressive. I highly recommend the content as a must for all individuals tasked with the development of soccer players across all levels of the game.”
Kari Ukkonen
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“Working with ISSPF as an educational partner has allowed us here at the Football Association the chance to provide CPD and continue to educate our coaches across a wide range of learning levels from our UEFA foundation levels through our UEFA Professional Licence. Offering our candidates, the chance to use both the ISSPF platform & specific soccer courses, is a huge advantage to us as an education provided within the game”
Vin Blaine
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“An experienced director with a demonstrated history of working in the soccer industry & having developed across a range of sports psychology, match analysis, player development, and sports management – I feel the opportunity to integrate the e-learning facility available from ISSPF into as a federation, club or individual self-development level is of huge benefit. As a FIFA & CONCACAF Instructor & Director of Football I have rarely seen an educational tool as good as this to positively influence individuals across a range of key soccer topics.”
Leo Lucas da Silva
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“Using the ISSPF learning facility has opened my eyes to the detail and incredible knowledge provided from an elite faculty of elite coach developers and soccer science educators. As an individual who continually wants to progress my coaching pathway, I think this might be the best solution to increase my awareness of all elements of the game. The large amount of content and lectures available has already, and will continue to improve me. Gaining the Foundation Certificate in Soccer Science & Performance was extremely to me.”
Sir Alex Ferguson
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
Sports science, without question is the biggest, most important change in my lifetime. It has moved the game onto another level that maybe we never dreamt of all those years ago. Sports science has brought a whole new dimension to the game.”
Aberdeen, Manchester United
Oriol Gonzales
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
Jingze Quan
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
Woody Jacobs
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“Working as both Assistant Manager with elite players of our national team, I have been able to directly take a lot of content and thought provoking ideas from the content on view within ISSPF and use them to the benefit of our national players. Furthermore, I am delighted to say that we are now integrating the ISSPF online courses into our coach development program to uplift the whole coaching education aspects of our nation.”
Susan Lockyear
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“As the game develops within the professional women’s game & also filters down within the girl’s academy programs across the world, we are proud to be at the forefront of driving the developmental aspects of the game in this area. To be able to link as an educational partnership with ISSPF is a huge part of our federation soccer development strategy, and as we can now offer a range of online content, certification qualifications and courses from a range of leading professionals – we have already seen a direct enhancement across our coaching content and performance department delivery.”
Lorenzo Francini
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
As a fitness coach and sport scientist working at the elite level of the female game, I feel that ISSPF and their integration of both applied and academic quality is something that will be of huge importance for people within our industry. ISSPF have manage to accumulate a faculty of leaders across soccer science, medical & coaching science that will enable them to educate people from a very insightful and practitioning way.
Peter McDonnell
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“The layers of content within ISSPF is in a league of it’s on when considering CPD options for coaches of all levels. Having explored many avenues through my own coaching journey, the detail embedded in the courses really lends itself to closing the gap between the integrated knowledge across the fields of Sports Science and the actual application of the skills on the field. Being able to learn from many experts, across a global faculty, affords me the ability to step into their professional world and soak in the abundant knowledge they have, all in my own time. ”
Claudio Donatelli
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“ISSPF have been able to seamlessly provide all individuals with an interest in team sports and specifically soccer with the chance to learn from some of the best people in their key research areas. Developing throughout my career as a fitness & conditioning expert and applying the scientific principles of training at the elite level of the soccer, I feel being able to use the e-learning strategy within ISSPF challenges and adds further credibility to my working practices. I highly recommend individuals from all learning levels to tap into the fantastic resource available here. ”
Tony Merola
REVIEWS FROM PROFESSIONAL COACHES
“Never before have I seen a unique set of soccer specific performance & coaching specialists under one banner and available 24 hours a day 7 days a week to learn within the comfort of my own home. Being part of the educational partnership program with ISSPF has opened up a new & time efficient way for both myself as Technical Director, and my club coaching and fitness staff to up skill and develop as coaches.”
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. This course is designed to show how professional environments plan and think, not to assume you already work in one.
Many coaches take this course to:
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Add structure to grassroots or youth programmes
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Prepare for academy or higher-performance roles
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Bring more clarity and consistency to their current team
The framework can be applied across different age groups, competitive levels, and training schedules.
It’s deliberately practical.
You’ll learn the principles behind periodisation and game models, but always in relation to:
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Planning training weeks
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Designing sessions
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Connecting training to match performance
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Making clearer coaching decisions
This is not an academic course and not a drill library.
It’s a way of thinking and planning that you can use immediately.
The course is delivered through eight connected modules, completed in sequence.
Each module builds on the previous one, so ideas carry through from planning, to training, to how your team plays on match day.
This structure mirrors how effective coaching frameworks are developed in real environments.
Each module includes a short knowledge check before moving on.
These are there to:
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Reinforce the main ideas
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Help you pause and reflect
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Make sure key concepts are clear as the course progresses
They’re part of the learning flow and can be revisited if needed.
The course is self-paced.
Most coaches complete it over 4-8 weeks, depending on their schedule.
You can work through it at your own speed and revisit the content whenever you need.
No. The course explains how professional environments approach planning and performance, but the principles are taught in a way that works with or without advanced tools.
The focus is on understanding what to prioritise and why – regardless of resources.
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