Quick answer
What coaching qualifications are required for my staff?
FNSW sets minimum coaching qualification requirements for every role in every league. Failing to meet them can result in fines equal to the cost of the required course. Here's what's required and how to track it in Clubhouse.
Coaching qualifications are a League Compliance item in the Club Standards framework. If your coaches don't meet the minimums, you'll receive a -2 point deduction per non-compliant item. Beyond compliance, the Technical Qualifications component of the framework rewards clubs that invest in higher-level accreditations.
All coaches must be registered on PlayFootball and hold a valid Coaching ID card before the season starts.
These are the minimums in FNSW's Coaching Qualifications 2025 & 2026 document. They are the licences FNSW fines against, not recommendations. Youth leagues split by division, so check which division your programme plays in: a Girls' Youth League Two assistant needs a B Diploma, where a League One assistant needs a C.
Boys' Youth League One
| Role | 2026 minimum |
|---|---|
| Technical Director | A Diploma |
| Head Coach (U18) | B Diploma |
| Head Coach (U13–U16) | B Diploma |
| Assistant Coach | C Diploma |
| GK Coach | GK B Diploma |
Boys' Youth League Two
| Role | 2026 minimum |
|---|---|
| Technical Director | A Diploma |
| Head Coach (U18) | B Diploma |
| Head Coach (U13–U16) | B Diploma |
| Assistant Coach | C Diploma |
| GK Coach | GK B Diploma |
Boys' Youth League Three
| Role | 2026 minimum |
|---|---|
| Technical Director | B Diploma |
| Head Coach (U18) | B Diploma |
| Head Coach (U13–U16) | C Diploma |
| Assistant Coach | C Diploma |
| GK Coach | Foundation of Goalkeeping |
Girls' Youth League One
| Role | 2026 minimum |
|---|---|
| Technical Director | A Diploma |
| Head Coach (U14–U18) | B Diploma |
| Assistant Coach | C Diploma |
| GK Coach | GK B Diploma |
Girls' Youth League Two
| Role | 2026 minimum |
|---|---|
| Technical Director | A Diploma |
| Head Coach (U14–U18) | B Diploma |
| Assistant Coach | B Diploma |
| GK Coach | GK B Diploma |
Mixed Junior Development League
| Role | 2026 minimum |
|---|---|
| Head of MJDL | B Diploma + FNSW JDL course |
| Head Coach (U9–U12) | C Diploma |
| Assistant Coach | C Diploma |
| GK Coach | GK B Diploma |
Girls' Junior Development League
| Role | 2026 minimum |
|---|---|
| Head of GJDL | B Diploma + FNSW JDL course |
| Head Coach (U10–U13) | C Diploma |
| Assistant Coach | C Diploma |
| GK Coach | GK B Diploma |
Senior programmes (NPL, League One and League Two, men's and women's) have their own tables in What coaching qualifications do senior coaches need?.
Tip: In the Club Standards scoring, higher qualifications than the minimum earn additional points. A coach with a B Diploma in a role requiring a C Diploma scores higher than the minimum.
If a Technical Director is employed full-time, they can take on additional roles (e.g. coaching a team, heading the JDL program) as long as it doesn't compromise their TD responsibilities.
If part-time, a TD may only hold one additional role — for example, head coach of one U13–U18 team, or Head of MJDL/GJDL, or head coach of one grade plus assistant of another.
Per-staff edits:
- Go to Staff in the admin portal.
- Tap a staff member to open their profile.
- Select the Qualifications tab.
- View and record their current coaching accreditations, certificate numbers, and issue and expiry dates.
- To keep a copy of the certificate, open the qualification and drop the PDF or photo onto Certificate (or tap it to choose a file). PDF, PNG and JPG up to 10MB are accepted. A qualification with no certificate yet shows Add certificate on its row, which opens the same slot; once attached, View certificate opens it. Attaching one is optional.
When you open a coach from a programme, the tab ends with What FNSW requires: the minimum licence for each role in that programme's league this season, with the roles the coach's licences already cover ticked. For a youth programme it shows the exact division once it is known, from fixtures or from the division set on the programme's CCB register. Until then it shows every division side by side.
Coaches can add their own qualifications and certificates from Settings → Compliance in the coach portal.
Club-wide overview:
- Go to Compliance in the admin nav.
- Tap the Technical Qualifications tile.
- The sub-page lists every staff member with their current accreditations and gaps highlighted in amber/red — the same view that feeds the green / amber / red status pill on the hub tile.
See How do I use the compliance dashboard? for the broader 7-tile hub.
On a programme's FNSW scorecard, each Technical Qualifications criterion scores itself from these records and opens on the coaches in that role: who holds it, the qualification behind their score, and which qualification would lift it. A coach who fills two roles scores half points for the second. In a Mixed JDL or Girls JDL programme, a coach who also plays at the club earns an extra point, up to the role's maximum; tick Also plays at the club on their Contract tab. The coach's PlayFootball ID for the season goes on the same tab.
FNSW will fine the club an amount equal to the cost of the required course. For example, if a coach needs a B Diploma but only holds a C Diploma, the fine would be approximately $2,300 — the cost of the B Diploma course. If a B Diploma course becomes available during the season and the coach enrols, the fine may be allocated toward covering the course fee.
If a coach in a mandatory role (Head Coach, TD) leaves during the season, the club has a maximum of 4 weeks to appoint a fully accredited replacement. Failure to do so results in a fine.
All coaches must be registered on the National Registration System by close of business on the first Monday of February. Any changes to your coaching roster (terminations, new appointments, updated accreditations) must be communicated to FNSW's Competitions Department within 7 days.
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