Football Player Development Pathway
Our partners Macclesfield Football Club deliver the Macclesfield FC Football Player Development Programme (FPDP) which provides you with the opportunity to train and play whilst completing your degree studies with us.
The FPDP has a structured weekly programme so that you can keep developing as a player, including coaching, scouting, performance analysis and physical therapy. Our degree curriculum has been organised so blocks of time are available each day to support training, conditioning, fixtures, and recovery.
As a UCLan student you can also play for the University’s Football Clubs (men’s and women’s) in British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competition. And you'll benefit from the leadership of the University’s Head Coach Jade Richards. Jade combines being a senior player for Blackburn Rovers LFC with being the University Head Coach. To deliver Macclesfield FC's FPDP programme, Jade works alongside their coaching staff.
The programme is primarily undertaken on the grass and 3G surfaces at our multi-million-pound Sports Arena. It is also supported by our on-campus facilities, the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre and the Sports Injuries and Rehabilitation Centre.
Hear from our students
The university has opened doors for me because of what they've taught me about the sport industry. My experience at Macclesfield FC has shown me how a football club works and has helped me achieve my dream position.
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Our undergraduate courses
How to apply
To apply for this programme, you will need to have received an offer to study at our University on one of the courses above. You will then be able to apply to the football player development programme directly via Macclesfield FC.
To do this please visit Macclesfield FC's football player development pathway web page.
Hear from our graduates
It’s been a really fun experience, I’ve made a lot of really good friends here. The coaching has been really great we have Jade, who is our coach for the UCLan team, she’s a very good coach.
Jade is amazing and probably the best coach we could have. She understands, especially for us who play for Macclesfield on the development programme, that there are some days when we don’t feel the best and she’s always very understanding.