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Sunderland College's city-wide partnership with the Foundation of Light's Football Scholarship gives aspiring young footballers the chance to represent Sunderland AFC and gain nationally recognised qualifications through an extensive football and education programme.

Our programme gives young people the unique opportunity to represent Sunderland AFC in the National Football Youth League and EFL Community & Education Football Alliance against other club representative teams. Students also have the possibility to play in the prestigious Tier 1 AOC league, as well as national cups and local college league. Students train for up to five days per week, focusing on key areas of long-term player development, with full-time UEFA A and UEFA B qualified coaches. All of this is accessible whilst studying a wide range of subjects with Sunderland College, creating career ambitions and increasing employment opportunities for learners. Female students also have the option of the Sunderland AFC Women's Professional Game Academy (PGA) to compete against other academies from the Women's Super League and Women's Championship.

Foundation of Light

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A student of sports studies at Sunderland College.

  • Strength & Conditioning - Support is available through our highly qualified and experienced staff. Students will be provided with bespoke, individual training plans to help improve their physical development and manage injury prevention.
  • Physiotherapy - Students will have access to high quality physiotherapy support for injury diagnosis, as well as rehabilitation programmes.
  • Analysis - Students will have improvement support through video analysis of games and training. This can be accessed individually and through team workshops. Students will also have access to their own GPS data for training and games to aid in player development.
  • Nutrition - Students will take part in nutrition workshops covering regular training and performance phases.
  • Dual Career - Students can choose from a wide range of subjects to help develop their career ambitions and create a pathway into employment. This includes access to A-Levels, BTEC’s and even Engineering and Electrical Installation.
  • USA Scholarship - Support is available to help with the application process for USA football scholarships, including video tutorials and game footage access.
  • Our Partners: