Full membership of UEFA coaching convention

All 53 UEFA member national associations are now members at various levels of the UEFA Convention on the Mutual Recognition of Coaching Qualifications.

Executive Committee approval
The UEFA Executive Committee's approval of the admission of Montenegro at B level means that each European association has joined the convention at either A, B or Pro level. At its meeting in Nyon, the Executive Committee also gave the green light to the admission of Albania (A level), Georgia (A level) and Turkey (Pro level).

Protect the profession
The convention's objective is to protect the coaching profession and smooth the way for the free movement of qualified coaches within Europe in accordance with European law. UEFA also promotes the exchange of coach education and encourages its 53 member associations to share technical knowledge with the overall benefit of European football in mind.

Three levels
Minimum criteria have been laid down in the convention for three training levels (B, A and Pro). If any UEFA member association meets these criteria, it can accede to the convention. Around 159,000 coaches across the continent have UEFA-endorsed licences.

Convention expands
The convention came into being in 1997 and targets the upgrading of coach education within the European national associations. Over the last decade, the convention has continued to expand throughout the continent. "To produce outstanding players and enable them to deploy their talents to the full in a team context also takes outstanding coaches," says UEFA. "Such coaches do not arise out of nowhere. They are first and foremost the product of a high-quality coach education system.

Core element
"It is on precisely this point that UEFA focuses its efforts in the area of coach education, in order to safeguard and further improve the quality of European football. And one of the core elements of these efforts is the UEFA Convention on the Mutual Recognition of Coaching Qualifications."