Sports Academy - Football

Overview

Belfast Met Football Academy is the oldest established Football Academy in NI for males and females.

Belfast Met Football Academy has a history of producing talented players who progress on to professional football careers in the Irish League and in English and Scottish football.

However the Belfast Met Football Academy is not just about those players wishing to play at the highest levels in the local game or across the water. Belfast Met Football Academy will improve the standard of any player coming through the Academy by exposure to full-time football coaching and strength and conditioning with coaches who have experience of football at the highest level in the local game.

Players who have graduated through our Football Academy in the past have also progressed through academic routes in the college to Level 4 and level 5 courses, and to university.  

Belfast Met Football Academy also caters for those players with a keen interest in developing a coaching career within the sport. This can be achieved within the Football Academy by studying industry recognised coaching qualifications and employability skills through the Irish Football Association education programme. This opens pathways into coaching and officiating in football and in the past has provided paid work for our Academy players.

As well as full time coaching and achieving coaching qualifications Belfast Met Football Academy players also have the choice of studying on one of the following academic or vocational courses within the college. Please note your application for the Football Academy can only be accepted if you also apply to one of the following courses or if you are actively enrolled on one of the following courses. You can apply to more than one academic course, however you will be required to reduce your offer to one course in the future:

Level 3 courses equivalent to 3 A levels

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Sporting Excellence and Performance (2 year course)

Pearson BTEC National Extended Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science (2 year course)

Vocational course

Active IQ Level 3 Diploma in Gym Instructing and Personal Training (1 year course)

Level 2 course

Pearson BTEC First Diploma in Sport - P00871-AA - Course - Belfast Met (1 year course)