Football: More than a Game (credit & non-credit)

Explore the world of football, its role in the world today, finances, clubs, nations, rivalries and much more in this free online course. This course runs throughout the year and has been completely refreshed for the 2023-24 season.

Football is often called the people’s game - it has more than 200 million viewers world wide and major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup are viewed by the vast majority of countries around the world. Scotland played England towards the end of 2023 to mark 150 years of the oldest official international fixture in the world.

More than 53 million people watched China v England in the most recent FIFA women’s World Cup. Saudi Arabia are investing heavily in sport as are some small but wealthy states. What impact could this have on the ownership model of football clubs?

Both courses introduce participants to the global game of football (soccer), why it is called the people’s game, how it has developed in different parts of the world and why major sporting events are important to different countries.

It covers governance, strategy, and leadership in different football settings, identifies key people, players and nations and provides a behind-the-scenes overview of the world of football.

It looks at different profiles of football fans, nations, and players in terms of fitness coaching, demographics and economics (that is, players wages, migration patterns, levels of sponsorship and the role of positive coaching)

Over the course of six weeks, we look at different aspects of football in terms of some of its economic, social, cultural, historical, and psychological parameters.

Many people support the course delivery, including Liverpool legend and former Match of the Day analyst Alan Hansen and Mel Young founder of the Homeless World Cup.

You may sign up for this free course on either FutureLearn or Coursera.

Football: More than a Game also runs in local football stadiums within Scotland.

This article was published on 27 Sep, 2023