UEFA Elite Youth A Diploma

The UEFA Elite Youth A is a specialist diploma for coaches of elite young players in the transition zone — roughly U17 to U21, the step from academy football into the professional game. It sits beside the UEFA A in the Convention’s specialist family; national associations run it, so details vary.

• Entry: a valid UEFA Youth B diploma, usually with a year’s experience after it, or a valid UEFA A. (The 60-hour Youth B itself needs the UEFA B.)
• Hours: at least 120 hours — 60 off the pitch and 60 on it, including work experience. A combined A and Elite Youth A course needs at least 300 hours.
• Examples: the Swiss association charges CHF 5,000 and makes it mandatory for U17–U19 head coaches; the Welsh association runs a combined A and Elite Youth A over 12 months for £5,000 (entry: a UEFA B plus a year’s post-B 11-a-side experience, coaching U14 or older), with two four-day residential blocks, online modules and in-situ mentoring; the Maltese one runs over six months with a study visit abroad.
• Assessment: set by each association — e.g. an internship-report presentation and an in-club methodology exam.

Typical content: a more professional training environment, preparing individual and team, managing academies. The FA does not run a standalone Elite Youth A; its elite-youth offer is the Advanced Youth Award. The diploma qualifies you to lead elite youth teams in the transition years.