COACH-EX

Grant Agreement No.: 2025-1-MT01-KA182-SPO-000301847
Project Partners: Swieqi United Football Club (Malta) and Union Plaani r.y (Finland)

COACH-EX – Coaching Exchange for Football Excellence, is an Erasmus+ funded project supported through European Union Programmes Agency (EUPA) in Malta under the Sport Mobility action. The project was coordinated by Swieqi United Football Club (Malta) in partnership with Union Plaani r.y (Finland).

The project aimed to improve the quality and innovation of grassroots football coaching through international mobility and job-shadowing. As part of the project, six football coaches and one staff member from Malta participated in a structured learning exchange in Finland, observing and working alongside Finnish coaches in a different sporting, cultural and climatic environment.

The mobility focused on climate-adaptive training methods, innovative coaching approaches, injury prevention and youth development, responding directly to the Erasmus+ priority of initial and continuous training for sport staff. COACH-EX also supported grassroots sport development, while promoting inclusion, gender equality and equal access to learning opportunities, in line with the EU Work Plan for Sport.

Environmental sustainability and digital learning were embedded throughout the project, with participants using digital tools to prepare, reflect and share knowledge while exploring environmentally responsible practices in sports training.

The impact of COACH-EX extends beyond the mobility period. Knowledge gained through the exchange are being integrated into Swieqi United FC’s regular coaching programmes and shared through train-the-trainer sessions, ensuring long-term benefits for coaches players, and the wider grassroots football community in Malta.

The Swieqi United FC Training & Job Shadowing with Union Plaani took place in📍Heinola, Finland on 📅1-6 June 2026.

The project aimed to improve the quality and innovation of grassroots football coaching through international mobility and job shadowing. As part of the project, six football coaches and one accompanying staff member from Malta participated in a structured learning exchange in Finland, observing and working alongside Finnish coaches in a different sporting, cultural and climatic environment.

During the mobility, the Swieqi United FC coaching delegation took part in a varied programme of observation, discussion and professional exchange. Participants observed training sessions involving Union Plaani’s youth, girls’ and senior teams, as well as youth and junior matches and summer-camp activities.

The coaches were also introduced to Union Plaani’s coaching curriculum and club structure, discussed the men’s-team programme and had opportunities to exchange views directly with Finnish coaches and staff. This allowed participants to compare coaching methods, session design, player development and club organisation with practices used at Swieqi United FC.

The mobility focused on areas including climate-adaptive training, innovative coaching approaches, youth and grassroots player development, injury prevention, player-centred coaching, inclusion, gender equality, sustainability and the use of digital tools in sport.

A particularly valuable aspect of the exchange was the opportunity to learn from Union Plaani’s strong community-based approach to football. Participants highlighted the close relationship between the club and its community, the facilities available, and the way in which players, coaches and local people are involved in the club environment.

The exchange was also a two-way learning experience. Coaches reflected on the similarities between the Maltese and Finnish football contexts and identified practices that could be adapted within Swieqi United FC, particularly in relation to club organisation, community engagement, youth-session design and the development of coaching structures.

Participant feedback following the mobility was very positive. All respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the experience, and all stated that they would recommend an Erasmus+ mobility of this kind to other coaches or sports professionals.

All participants reported that their knowledge of youth football coaching and development methodologies had increased and that the job-shadowing experience contributed to their professional development.

The mobility also strengthened Swieqi United FC’s capacity to organise international staff-development activities and created a stronger basis for continued cooperation with Union Plaani.

The impact of COACH-EX extends beyond the mobility itself. The knowledge and ideas gained are being shared within Swieqi United FC through peer discussion and internal knowledge transfer, while relevant coaching and organisational practices are being considered for integration into the club’s regular programmes. Further train-the-trainer and one-to-one knowledge-sharing activities are also taking place with coaches who did not participate in the mobility, so they too can benefit from the knowledge acquired.

The project therefore contributed not only to the professional development of the participating coaches, but also to the longer-term development of coaching quality, organisational learning, European cooperation and grassroots football within Swieqi United FC.