Modern football is a highly competitive environment and heavily results-driven. It is a global business and global labour market. There is fierce competition, not only domestically, but internationally as well. In England in 2013-14 the top eight Premier League clubs made 44 new signings and 33 of these players were foreign. Staggeringly in 2013-14 just five English players took part in all 38 Premier League matches. Currently, 93% of players at English academies are British but less than 25% of new players signed by Premier League clubs in 2013-14 were UK nationals. Clearly, our academy players are not making the transition to first team status as efficiently as our European competitors, which supports the Welsh FA’s desire to study European coaching practice. The Welsh FA’s previous participation in the Leonardo da Vinci mobility programme has demonstrated the undoubted potential for mobility to enhance the employment prospects for young apprentices (VET learners). Between 15-20% of all mobility participants went on to achieve first team status, which is an unprecedented success rate and directly attributable to the benefits of mobility. By contrast, in the absence of mobility, only 5-8% of apprentices can expect to achieve first team promotion. One of the great value-added benefits of mobility participation is the finding that apprentices who are unsuccessful in being offered a professional contract are still four times more likely to be offered employment in a secondary career pathway than those who have not undertaken mobility. Mobility will allow 65 male and female elite players to experience the training methods at three UEFA-acknowledged centres of excellence in Austria, Spain and Portugal. The host partners will provide access to different European teams and coaching systems, which are each applauded as having world class records in talent identification, coupled with innovative coaching and enhanced player-development pathways. Innovations in physiological development, coaching delivery and tactical analysis will be used to improve skills’ acquisition for mobility participants. Improved employment rates for VET learners, with improved vocational attainment, enhanced accreditation and mobility certification will help improve career progression and job security for all participants. The key competences that are to be acquired/improved are listed below:1. Improved physiological development of participants via the implementation of innovative training regimes as a direct result of structured Erasmus+ mobility programme.2. Skills and technology transfer between the mobility apprentices and players and coaches in Europe.3. Improved employment rates for mobility participants in professional football careers.4. Improved linguistic skills for participants and an awareness of the cultural diversity within another European country.5. Increased maturity, initiative and increased self-empowerment and self-esteem.6. Enhanced cultural awareness.7. Increased participation and retention rates in women’s and girls’ football.8. Enhancement of soft skills.9. Increased motivation both on and off the field.10. Closer links between VET Providers in Wales and Europe.The Welsh FA will allocate a sum equivalent to 10% of the total budget to fund dissemination before, during and after the mobility period.