PZPN

The School's offering is expanding year by year. It trains coaches taking their first steps (grassroots academies, UEFA B+A), those working with youth (e.g., UEFA Youth) and in women's football, as well as the most experienced professionals (holding a UEFA Pro licence). Furthermore, the education provided is becoming increasingly specialised, catering to goalkeeping coaches, scouts, analysts, and sporting directors. This year saw the first edition of the course for female sporting directors. The Coach Education School also offers online classes dedicated to specific football-related topics, including physical preparation, psychology, match analysis, tactics, and the learning process itself.

The National Conference for UEFA Pro Licensed Coaches will take place on Monday and Tuesday in Łódź. The organisers have traditionally provided a broad spectrum of topics, offering various perspectives on a given issue through the eyes of both Polish and international experts. Additionally, as always, they anticipate active participation from the attendees in posing questions and collaboratively seeking answers and solutions to problems.

“This is a conference for coaches working at the professional level. We expect their engagement, not merely their attendance to earn the points required for licence renewal. We believe that through discussions and the insights of other participants, everyone can find some inspiration. The goal is to raise questions that encourage seeking answers not only within football but also in what is happening around it,” says Piotr Grzelak from the PZPN Coach Education School. “There is currently a trend, which I believe is correct, that one cannot limit oneself solely to football, particularly when it comes to people management, team building, and resolving conflicts or crises. At the professional level in sports, this is of immense importance.”

Among the speakers on the first day is Jan Urban. The Poland national team Head Coach will discuss opponent analysis and the selection of training drills in the match preparation process. International guests are a tradition at the conference. On Monday, a lecture entitled “Building a Winning Mentality in Players and Teams” will be delivered by sports psychologist Dan Abrahams.

This is how Eddie Howe, the manager of Newcastle United, spoke about him: “With his extensive knowledge of sports psychology, Dan helps coaches understand the scientific basis of high performance and the methods that form the foundation of effective coaching.” Steve McClaren, assistant coach at Manchester United, adds: “Dan motivates players to incorporate mental skills into their routine. His methods are simple and effective.”

The first day's schedule also includes a lecture by Konrad Czapeczka, “Authentic Coach. Strong Team. How to build a winning mentality under pressure?”, along with workshops. This time, they will be held in an open-space format. “Participants will not be tied to a single group. We will propose ten topics. If a coach does not like their chosen topic, they will be able to move to one that suits them better,” explains Grzelak.

Another change is the absence of practical sessions, namely a demonstration training session. “We concluded that it added little value. The coaches were not drawing inspiration for their own sessions. "Moreover, for a coach conducting a session with a team that is not their own, it presented an additional difficulty and was not a comfortable working environment," believes Grzelak. “We are trying to follow the trends we observe in top associations, and from what I know, they also highly appreciate what we do with our workshop-based approach, for example.”

Tuesday will be dedicated to current events, among other topics. For instance, Radosław Bella, assistant coach at Sigma Olomouc, will discuss the tactical analysis of the 2026 World Cup and provide participants with practical coaching tips. An international perspective with a Polish touch will also be provided by Przemysław Małecki, assistant coach at Udinese Calcio. His lecture is titled “Advantage in the Details – Working Philosophy and Match Plan Preparation at Udinese”. Furthermore, Krzysztof Waloszczyk, a staff member of the UEFA Analysis Department, will present a lecture on “Match Analysis in European Football – Development Directions at UEFA”.

The international guest on Tuesday will be Aaron Briggs. He began his work as an analyst at Blackpool, later continuing at Manchester City. He subsequently worked at AS Monaco, UEFA, FIFA, VfL Wolfsburg, and Liverpool. Briggs will speak on “How to Break Down High Man-to-Man Pressing? Lessons from Champions”. “He is a coach educator for UEFA. He was recommended to us directly by the European federation. We also checked with our sources in England, and he received excellent references,” emphasises Grzelak.

The Conference for UEFA Pro Licensed Coaches will conclude with a panel discussion dedicated to match strategy and match management.