Activity
30 minutes

Putting the child before the player

Updated Wednesday, 2 July 2025

Football is the most popular team sport for children and young people in the UK and throughout much of the world. In this interactive, you will learn why children’s rights are fundamental to every young person’s experience of football.

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Football pitch with the text Putting the child before the player on it

This interactive series of short films is suitable to be studied by children over 13 years of age. We recommend that children are supervised by a responsible adult before viewing the content.

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BSc (Honours) Sport, Fitness and Coaching

If you?re an aspiring or practising leader of sport or fitness activities, this degree will develop your skills and understanding of sports science,?training, coaching and leadership. It will enhance your awareness of your own role, increase your effectiveness at work and develop your communication and analytical skills ? further boosting your career prospects. You?ll apply science and theory to practice, reflecting on case studies or real and potential work situations. Drawing on video, text and online materials, you?ll focus on the all-round physical and psychological needs of sports participants or exercise clients.

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Some of the key questions in the world today require expertise from a range of subjects. Multidisciplinary study has always been at the heart of the Open University, and the BA/BSc (Honours) Open, or Open degree, allows you to bring together different areas of study in a completely flexible way to develop knowledge and skills. It's a degree with a difference. Free from the restriction of a subject-specific specialism, you can set the direction of your learning. Choose from over 250 modules across 16 subject areas to create a bespoke qualification that matches your interests and helps you stand out in the job market. "The flexibility of creating your own path is simply amazing. I am super thankful for the opportunity to create a degree adapted to my needs and interests. It's ingenious."?Susanna van Tonder, BA/BSc (Honours) Open

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Certificate of Higher Education in Sport, Fitness and Management

What makes a top-flight sports coach or fitness instructor? This certificate investigates the factors that contribute to success?and gives you an in-depth knowledge of how the sector works. Focusing on the needs of participants or clients, you?ll explore training, nutrition, motivation, and leadership; and increase your effectiveness and skills in these areas. As you study, you?ll always come back to what matters most: applying theory to practice.

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Exploring childhood and youth

This module asks the question ?What does it mean to be a child or young person in today?s world?? You'll explore children and young people?s everyday lives (ages 0?23) and gain deeper insight into contemporary childhood and youth studies. You?ll examine diverse experiences of childhood and youth in the UK and across the world, looking at topics including identity, disability, gender, and climate change. Do you work with or aspire to work with children and young people? We?ve designed it for anyone with an interest in the field of childhood and youth studies.

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Ola Fadoju 15 December 2022 2:49PM

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Very interactive and insightful

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Admin User 9 November 2022 12:06PM
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very interesting

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Putting the child before the player

Instructions

Study a free course

The business of football

Exploring sport coaching and psychology

Communication and working relationships in sport and fitness

Discover more content on coaching

How Emma Raducanu’s parents strike the right balance: supporting your child athlete

Riding the carousel or partners for life: what makes an effective coach–athlete relationship in tennis?