EDGE Futures

MORE THAN A GAME

Your game.
Your skills.
Your future.

Turn the skills you build in football into evidence you can use beyond the pitch.

EDGE helps young footballers recognise their strengths, capture real examples and explore education and career opportunities while they are still playing.

Discuss a club programme ↗
SPORT→SKILLS→OPPORTUNITY
A footballer walking from the stadium tunnel towards the pitch
THE NEXT CHAPTER

Starts while
you're still playing.

01 / THE VISION
Resilience↗Discipline↗Teamwork↗Leadership↗Communication

01 / OUR APPROACH

Sport develops talent.
Life needs it too.

Years of sporting development should create opportunities beyond the game.

Training and matches develop resilience, teamwork, leadership and communication. EDGE helps players explain those capabilities through examples from their own lives.

Our approach combines relevant learning, guided reflection and evidence of skills in action. Employer-led career themes connect that development with possibilities beyond football.

See how the journey works ↘
EDGE Futures with players and staff at Motherwell Football Club

IN PRACTICE / MOTHERWELL

Inside the club.
In the players’ words.

Our work with Motherwell brings EDGE into the environment where young people are already developing their skills.

Kai, Josh and Aiden share their perspectives in the films below. Kai also interviews EDGE co-founder Jamie Mitchell, giving a player’s view of the questions behind the programme.

Explore the player interviews and our learning approach to see the work in context.

Hear the players ↘
The EDGE team and sporting community together

THE EDGE STORY

A future built
from your strengths.

Football experience. Educational expertise. A shared belief that what you learn in sport should travel with you.

02 / THE JOURNEY

See your EDGE.
Build your next move.

Learning means more when it connects to your own experience. Every step helps turn sporting development into evidence you can use.

01

Learn

Explore a skill or career theme through short, relevant learning.

02

Reflect

Connect it to moments from training, matches, school or life.

03

Evidence

Capture examples that show the skill in action.

04

Progress

Build digital credentials and explore employer pathways.

WHAT THE JOURNEY BRINGS TOGETHER

Learning. Evidence.
A clearer next step.

Players explore transferable skills, reflect on sporting experiences and capture examples of what they can do. Career learning introduces industries, roles and possible routes into work.

Discuss a programme for your club

Tell us about your players and development priorities. Ask about suitable ages, session format, duration, costs and how EDGE could fit alongside your existing provision.

Discuss delivery and availability ↗

THE SKILLS PASSPORT

More than a list of achievements.
A record of what you can do.

The Skills Passport is a development concept: a portable record bringing together capabilities, supporting evidence and digital credentials. The example alongside shows how a sporting experience could become evidence of a skill.

Digital credentials through Navigatr support the learning journey.

ILLUSTRATIVE PASSPORT ENTRY
Leadership

Supporting a younger teammate during training.

“I adapted my explanation, listened to their questions and helped them practise.”

A reflection and feedback from a coach or teammate could support the example.

Illustrative only. This is not an issued credential or a real player record.

03 / BUILD FUTURES TOGETHER

Different perspectives.
One shared ambition.

Young people at the centre. Clubs creating trusted environments. Employers bringing real-world relevance.

FOR CLUBS & ACADEMIES

Develop the person.
Strengthen the pathway.

Bring structured learning and evidence of transferable skills into your player-development environment, preparing young people for their next chapter while they still play.

Explore a club programme ↗
  • Support education and player care
  • Make development beyond football visible
  • Connect players with career learning
  • Build evidence they can carry forward
A learner exploring practical skills with an instructor

LEARNING WITH PURPOSE

Real skills.
Real relevance.

Core EDGE learning builds the transferable skills foundation. Sector training materials co-designed by employers and Dr Clare Daly help players understand industries, roles and potential routes into work.

Help shape an employer pathway ↗

VOICES OF EDGE

Hear the people.
See the possibilities.

Expert perspectives, player voices and the thinking behind EDGE. Choose a story to watch, including Kai's interview with Jamie.

THE EXPERT PERSPECTIVE

EDGE Experts

Watch the EDGE Experts film.

THE ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE

Clare's perspective

Hear from Dr Clare Daly.

PLAYER VOICES

Josh

Hear Josh's perspective.

PLAYER VOICES

Aiden

Hear Aiden's perspective.

FROM THE PLAYER'S SIDE

Kai meets Jamie

A young Motherwell player puts his questions to EDGE co-founder Jamie Mitchell.

04 / OUR PEOPLE

We know the game.
We see the person.

EDGE brings together lived experience in professional football, academic expertise and the relationships to connect both worlds.

Jamie Mitchell

CEO / CO-FOUNDER

Jamie Mitchell

Jamie brings more than 300 senior football appearances alongside commercial and business experience. He connects clubs, education and employers to help young people carry the value of sporting development into their next chapter.

Dr Clare Daly

CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER

Dr Clare Daly

Clare brings more than 20 years of experience in education and psychology and directs Strathclyde University’s Doctorate in Educational Psychology programme. She leads EDGE’s learning framework, connecting experience, reflection and evidence.

Ricky Waddell, Director of Football Operations and UEFA Pro Licence coach

DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS

Ricky Waddell

A UEFA Pro Licence coach who helped build Caledonian Braves, Ricky brings practical experience of player and club development. He works with clubs and players to connect EDGE’s learning with the realities of football.

A FEW USEFUL ANSWERS

Is EDGE only for players leaving football?+

No. EDGE works proactively while young people are still in sport, helping them recognise and build evidence of their skills before a transition happens.

What makes the learning different?+

It starts with the young person's own experiences. Reflection and evidence show how a capability has been developed and applied, rather than simply recording that a module was completed.

How can employers get involved?+

Employers can co-design sector learning and explore ways to bring it to life through talks, mentoring, visits or work experience. The scope is developed with each partner.

What would a player produce?+

The journey centres on reflections and examples of transferable skills. Digital credentials through Navigatr support the learning journey. The Skills Passport remains a concept for bringing these elements into a portable record.

What ages, timings and costs apply?+

Contact EDGE with your club, player group or family enquiry to discuss suitability, delivery options, availability and costs.

LET'S BUILD WHAT COMES NEXT

The next chapter
starts with a conversation.

Tell us about your club, business or sporting journey.
We can discuss programme delivery, employer involvement or getting started.

Choose your enquiry type below. The EDGE team will reply using the email address you provide.

We'll use these details to respond to your enquiry. .

Prefer to write directly? jamie@edgefutures.uk

Privacy

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For questions about privacy, contact jamie@edgefutures.uk.