Paul McShane and Glenn Whelan are among twenty players that have been accepted on to the FAI UEFA Pro-Licence Course.
They will join fellow ex-Irish internationals Colin Healy, David Meyler and Sean St. Ledger on the course which is the highest coaching qualification in football. Paul McShane is currently an academy coach at Manchester United whilst Glenn Whelan, whose still playing competitively for Bristol Rovers, has previously coached at Ireland under-16 level.
A number of League of Ireland managers and coaches have also been accepted onto the course, these include Cork City manager Healy, Dundalk’s Stephen O’Donnell, UCD’s Andy Myler, Longford Town assistant coach Gavin Peers, Bohemians Head of Youth Development Craig Sexton, Waterford assistant coach Gary Hunt, Peamount United’s James O’Callaghan and DLR Waves assistant coach Laura Heffernan.
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More than 70 different coaches applied for the course and 116 have succesfully earned the UEFA Pro-Licence through this route.
FAI Head of Coach Education Niall O’Regan said: “We are delighted to announce the 20 coaches who have successfully completed the application process for the 2023-2024 UEFA Pro Licence. The process has been ongoing since September 2022 and has seen over 70 applicants work through multiple stages culminating in the course interviews in January 2023. We are delighted to welcome 19 men and one woman to the group.
"The course will see the coaches working for 18 months with the FAI Coach Education Department, taking them through each of the course requirements, which will include individual learning, micro group activities, club visits, international club visits, student exchanges in UEFA and a personal learning portfolio of all course assignments. We look forward to working with them, mentoring and developing them to assist them in their continued career in the game.”
Director of Football with the FAI, Marc Canham said, "We are excited to welcome the 20 successful candidates to the 2023/24 UEFA Pro Licence course, which is the highest qualification that can be achieved in coaching.
“Coach development is an integral part of what we do at the FAI and the rapidly growing talent pool in this area is reflected not only in the 20 candidates selected for this course but also in the quality of coaches who applied for it. We are confident that Irish football has more better skilled coaches than ever before but we must continue to work with them and help to assist their coaching journey."
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