Football Medicine in Association with FIFA

Entry requirements

To apply for this course, you should have a Bachelor of Medicine or Bachelor of Surgery. You should be a qualified medical doctor with full unrestricted registration with the General Medical Council or your country's relevant body.

You should also have a minimum of one year’s work experience as a qualified and registered doctor before enrolment. Please provide a copy of your valid medical licence and details of how to confirm your medical registration online (if applicable).

Please ensure that you submit a personal statement of 250-500 words that outlines your qualifications and experience, your interest in the programme, and how you wish to use the degree after completion. As this is a practice-based course, please include details of your access to patients with sporting injuries and/or conditions where exercise could be prescribed as medicine.

If you are a qualified physiotherapist, but not a medical doctor, then this course is not suitable. You may, however, be interested in our MSc Sports Physiotherapy.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Developed in partnership with FIFA, this specialist master's course equips qualified doctors with the skills to conduct clinical practice in football settings.

This highly flexible academic and clinical master's degree develops your sport and exercise medicine expertise, with a focus on football.

Through a combination of Bath’s clinical expertise and FIFA’s industry insights, you’ll learn advanced football medicine techniques. This will help to enhance your sport-specific or portfolio medical career.

During your studies, you’ll gain the skills needed to improve the preparation, development, and medical management of recreational or elite players; and deepen your clinical knowledge of musculoskeletal injuries, to allow you to better assess, treat, and advise the patients in your practice.

You’ll also develop your:

• clinical knowledge of the aftercare of injuries and rehabilitation
• ability to provide safe and effective pitch-side emergency care
• expertise in injury prevention in football
• awareness of the signs of mental health issues in sport and the ability to provide confidential support
• understanding of the ethical and medicolegal issues of working in football

This course will also provide you with a recognised qualification for indemnity insurance - many team doctor jobs will require this type of qualification.

Visit FIFA's world-leading medical facilities

In Year 2, you’ll visit FIFA’s medical facilities in Zurich, Switzerland. This is an opportunity to see world-leading practice up close.

A mix of self-led and face-to-face learning

Bath is the only UK university that works with FIFA to offer this type of academically recognised course through part-time distance learning. This means you can complete your master's degree alongside your clinical practice.

You’ll also experience face-to-face teaching during our Residential Weeks, which will take place in Bath and at FIFA’s medical facilities in Zurich.

Bath’s sports medicine expertise

You’ll learn from experts in sports medicine and sports physiotherapy, some of whom have extensive football-specific experience, as well as staff in our wider Department for Health community.

Their passion, knowledge and industry expertise shape their teaching to enhance your learning experience. They all have vast levels of industry experience and have worked with a range of professional athletes across different sports.

Some have worked at high-profile sporting events, including the:

• Olympic Games
• Commonwealth Games
• Paralympic World Cup 
• World University Games

Use specialist facilities

During the first Residential Week, you will use the physiology and biomechanics suites on our Bath campus. These contain up-to-date performance testing and analysis equipment.

The second Residential Week, which will take place at FIFA’s medical facility in Zurich, will give you hands-on access to FIFA’s expertise and leading facilities. You will also complete pitch-side medical training during this week.

Gain important career skills

During this course, you will benefit from:

• highly interactive, flexible distance learning and clinical teaching
• residential teaching weeks to support your practical and clinical examination training
• an online network of sport and exercise medicine and sports physiotherapy clinicians
• access to experienced clinical specialists in the field to provide professional development support
• a problem-solving and reflective approach to football medicine

You will be assigned an experienced sports medic as your Professional Development Advisor during this course. They will provide mentorship and help you establish industry links.

In Year 1 and Year 2 there are opportunities to learn from guest speakers and build connections with other clinicians at our Residential Weeks. The first is optional and will take place in Bath. The second is compulsory and will take place will take place at FIFA’s medical facility in Zurich, Switzerland.

Upon successful completion of the Residential Week at FIFA’s Zurich medical facility, you’ll also receive a pitch-side medical certificate. This will be awarded by FIFA.

Graduate prospects

By the end of your studies, you will be qualified to work with footballers and/or teams from grassroots to elite levels in a variety of football medicine roles (such as team doctor).

Throughout the course, you’ll become better equipped to assess, treat, and advise patients in relation to musculoskeletal injuries, and to advise patients about the health benefits of exercise more generally.

Recent Department for Health graduates have gone on to work for leading organisations in the field of football, including:

• FIFA Medical Department
• The Premier League
• UEFA
• Manchester United FC
• The FA

If you want to continue your research alongside professional practice, we also provide an established Professional Doctorate, offering a route for MSc students interested in continuing their research to doctoral level while working part-time.

Fees and funding

View available funding opportunities