Sport Foundation Year - i2i International Soccer Academy

Our Sport Foundation Year programme features research-rich, practice-led, teaching that develops your cultural, contextual and ethical professional understanding. The programme is also in line with the University’s mission to offer opportunity, relevance and enhanced employability in sports through innovative and challenging learning and teaching.

This year-long course comprises two semesters and six core modules, all of which are varied in content and teaching style. Whilst the majority of the course content will be taught in a traditional classroom setting, students will receive around 30 hours of practical teaching in a variety of settings, including the state-of-the-art Sports Central. We also invite guest speakers who currently work in the industry to pass on their knowledge, advice and wisdom to you. They will also give you a real-life case study, which you need to resolve in real time, giving you a taste of your future career in sports.

Through links with Northumbria Sport, you will have the opportunity to volunteer and experience a range of practical sports. The programme allows you to gain knowledge and competence in key themes within sports to support you in vocational roles, and to help you to decide which of our undergraduate (i2i) degrees.

Virtual, self-directed learning technologies support you 24/7, including extensive, carefully curated resources from the world’s leading management researchers and practitioners. Our eLearning Portal also enables you to contact your tutors in real time and to submit the formative and summative assessments that support your learning. Discover more about each of our core modules in:

• Essential Skills for Studying Sport
• Sport Foundation Year Project
• Innovations in Sport
• Volunteering in Sport
• Sport, Exercise and Performance
• Contemporary Issues in Sport

Your academic tutors will use various teaching methods including lectures, seminars, problem-based workshops, case discussions, practical activities, group work, and tutorials. To facilitate the essential learning that needs to take place outside of formal contact sessions, there will be directed learning tasks during every module.

Teaching is backed by a well-designed support system that will underpin your learning journey. You will have a Guidance Tutor with whom you can discuss academic or personal issues and we ensure extensive feedback - from tutors and student peers - is built into the course wherever possible.

The Sport Foundation Year is delivered by an experienced team of research-active and practitioner-based academics who come from diverse professional backgrounds. You will therefore benefit from cutting-edge teaching and research alongside tutors who support you in making links with ‘real-world’ practice in a range of settings. 

i2i Soccer Academy Coaches

Holding internationally recognised UEFA Pro and A coaching licenses, the i2i Coaches work closely with each player to help maximise their soccer abilities and support them to pursue various career options, inside and outside of the sports industry. Discover more information below, including contact details for i2i's recruiters as well as Northumbria's Recruitment and International Projects Manager - Chris Bunten - who will help guide you on your journey to us.

The Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation aims to give all student-athletes a first-class education in world-class learning and teaching environments.

Expect a first-class education in a world-class environment, from our social spaces and hub areas to lecture theatres and exhibition spaces - our facilities are exceptional. For example, the 24/7 university library achieves some of the highest levels of student satisfaction in the UK and has held the Cabinet Office accreditation for Customer Service Excellence since 2010.

The equipment within our labs is state-of-the-art meaning you will be taught vocationally relevant skills in an exciting and stimulating setting. Some of the facilities you will have access to are specialist physiology, biomechanics and nutrition laboratories, strength and conditioning suites, indoor sprint tracks, an environmental chamber and the DXA bone scanner. Explore your learning spaces virtually here.

We are committed to helping you make the most of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) by embedding it throughout the course. Tools such as the ‘Blackboard’ eLearning Portal and electronic reading lists are there to help you efficiently and thoroughly prepare for seminars and independent research. Lecture capture software means you can revise previously lectured material online in your time, as well as at your speed.

Outside of the classroom, we have a wide range of socialisation and study spaces for students to utilise from our award-winning Student Central and Library to your dedicated Students' Union.

As an i2i student-athlete, you will have full access to Northumbria University's extensive state-of-the-art sports facilities.

Our sporting facilities comprise a City Campus facility - Sport Central - which was a £30 million investment made in 2010. Sport Central comprises a fitness centre, swimming pool, sauna and steam room, squash courts, four full-sized basketball court sports halls, indoor track, meeting rooms/performance analysis pods and strength and conditioning suites, the latter of which is only accessible by our scholar and i2i student-athletes. 

We also have our Coach Lane Sport Centre which is the focus of all our outdoor sports and the home of our soccer and i2i programme. Coach Lane Sport Centre is 3 miles away from our City Campus and Sport Central. At Coach Lane, we have four full-sized grass soccer pitches and two full-sized 3G pitches, with one pitch recently built in September 2022. There is also an indoor sports hall, player lounge, performance analysis rooms and a strength and conditioning suite.

Along with access to our strength and conditioning suites with our qualified coaches, i2i student-athletes receive a free commercial gym membership where they can access a swimming pool, sauna and steam room. as well as an extensive timetable of exercise classes.

As part of our offer to all i2i student-athletes, we have a great support services package. This includes:

Results from the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) show Northumbria's research power ranking rose to 23rd in the UK, making Northumbria the sector’s largest riser in research power ranking for the second time. In terms of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, we rank 5th in the UK (REF 2021) for Research Power.

Northumbria's research ethos underpins the problem-based, experiential learning approaches embedded within our research-rich curriculum. This approach will equip you to apply and develop knowledge in ‘real world’ situations, mindful of the cultural context and able to act ethically with integrity. 

During your time on the course, you will have the opportunity to take part in cutting-edge research projects, benefit from expert knowledge and get first-hand insight into some of the latest developments in sports science. You will also develop your ability to analyse and review studies and data while learning the techniques to measure and evaluate performance in our state-of-the-art sports science labs.

Experience has taught us that Foundation Year students become successful graduates. The extra year of study and exposure to industry experts and first-class facilities often gives this group of students a career edge, with employability capabilities at the heart of all module learning experiences and assessments. 

We make your personal-professional development and career planning a priority across all years of the programme; you will develop your knowledge and understanding of the graduate labour market and current trends in graduate recruitment and selection, applying this to your career planning. 

Upon successful completion of the foundation year, you will have the option to automatically progress onto one of our full-time i2i undergraduate degrees where you will be able to further your expertise in sport or business, whilst continuing with i2i's Soccer Development Programme. The formal progression route from Sport Foundation Year (i2i) is to one of our Sport (i2i) undergraduate programmes, however there is scope for students to progress onto Business Management (i2i). Students who opt for this route will have a different process to follow but guidance on how to do so will be provided where needed.

After this, the world is your oyster! The future could hold a career in football management at Newcastle United or in the development of outdoor tennis facilities throughout Tyne & Wear. You could work with schools to encourage children to get active, or coach within elite sports. You could become a sport and exercise scientist helping to optimise performance in Olympic athletes or improving health in the community. Whichever path you choose, our reputation for sports degrees at Northumbria precedes us.