Job Location:     Academy Training Ground, BR3 1NZ

Contract Type:  Student Placement

Period: August 2026 to June 2027

Deadline:            19th April 2026

Who we are:

We are Crystal Palace Football Club, a Premier League Football Club with more than 160 years of proud history. Spread across three different sites - brand new main offices at Selhurst Park Stadium, our London office, and our Training Ground/Academy, we offer the best atmosphere and culture for our fans and our employees. 

We strive for excellence in the workplace with a philosophy of high standards, professionalism, and a strong work ethic from our employees. We are constantly trying to grow, diversify and build with not only our team on the pitch, but also our team in the offices and on the ground.

About this placement:

• Full-time Masters by Research enrolment with student placement.

• 12 – 18 hours per week – some evening and weekend attendance required.

• Master’s tuition fees paid by Crystal Palace at UK rate.

• Start date: 1st August 2026

• The primary research location will be at Crystal Palace Football Club Academy (BR31NZ) or 1st team training grounds (BR3 1RJ).

Crystal Palace Football Club (1st Team and Academy) are seeking enthusiastic and committed individuals who are looking to undertake a Masters by Research to enhance the performance department services whist developing themselves as a performance coach or sport scientist.

This is the ideal studentship for someone who is looking to enhance their industry relevant research skills alongside ability as a coach or sport scientist. The role will be a highly challenging and rewarding and give the candidate a great insight into what a full-time role within Academy or 1st team football looks like.

Crystal Palace Football Club is proud of its role in developing performance practitioners to develop youth footballers through the funded MRes pathway. 16/17 students have secured full-time roles within 12 different clubs since commencement of the program.

Learning Opportunities

• Develop applied research, writing and data analysis skills that inform innovation in practice.

• Develop experience in delivery of pitch and gym-based sessions to U9 – U16 teams and assisting with U18 – U21 sessions

• Learn to create and interpret GPS reports with the Professional Development Phase players.

• Collate data using wellbeing questionnaires and RPE’s to create subjective training reports and gain experience presenting daily to coaching staff.

• Experience conducting a range of physical tests in line with Premier League requirements as well as additional testing.

• Develop experience in creating session plans to be delivered to U9 – U16 groups and reviewing these with staff.

• Take part in regular internal and external CPD as well as completing a Coaching Competency Framework that allows development of key areas of coaching which are essential to progress within the Academy performance department.

How to apply:

As part of your application here, please attach a research proposal that should not exceed 1,000 words (PDF format) – please see detailed guidance on writing your research proposal below.

Research Proposal Guidance

Please consider and choose one of the following project areas and associated reading. Develop a 1000-word research proposal, that includes an abstract, review of literature, identification of clear research questions and research methods to answer the intended research question. Further guidance is provided below.

Example research areas include:

• Effects of match day plus one (MD+1) top up conditioning on MD+3 fatigue responses.

• Reliability of kicking load variables (e.g., ball velocity) during football training drills using GPS ball tracking technology.

• Multidirectional analysis of running load during training drills, training weeks or during player injury rehabilitation.

• Dose-response relationships between multidirectional running load variables and fatigue response – influence of physical qualities.

• Physical testing (physical testing, fatigue testing, influence of growth and maturation).

References

• Buchheit, M., Lopez Sagarra, A., Boskovic, A., Komino, P., Norman, D. and Hader, K. (2026) ‘GPS 3.0: From distance into zones toward better proxies of internal neuromuscular load in elite football’, Sports Performance & Science Reports, 280, v1.

• White, R., Palczewska, A., Weaving, D., Collins, N. and Jones, B. (2022) ‘Sequential movement pattern-mining (SMP) in field-based team-sport: A framework for quantifying spatiotemporal data and improve training specificity?’, Journal of Sports Sciences, 40(2), pp. 164–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2021.1982484

• Weaving, D., Young, D., Riboli, A., Jones, B. and Coratella, G. (2022) ‘The maximal intensity period: Rationalising its use in team sports practice’, Sports Medicine – Open, 8, 136. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-022-00519-7

• Ellis, M., Myers, T., Taylor, R., Morris, R. and Akubat, I. (2022) ‘The dose-response relationship between training-load measures and changes in force-time components during a countermovement jump in male academy soccer players’, International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 17(11), pp. 1634–1641. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2022-0107

Guidance to submitting research proposal:

We would normally expect the research proposal to include the following:

• An abstract of no more than 200 words outlining the design of the research, including a clear statement of the proposed contribution to knowledge that will be made by the work: details should be in the proposal itself but should also be summarised in the abstract. The abstract is in addition to the proposal and so does not count in relation to the word limit on the proposal.

• Some evidence of familiarity with relevant literature and the place of the proposed research within a body of existing work: in designing research it is important to do so considering existing work on the topic. The proposal should show a familiarity with relevant literature, the ability to critically evaluate that literature and the ability to identify gaps in existing research. It should not simply be a report on what others have said on the topic or the research that they have completed. Rather, it should show your ability to identify patterns in existing research, evaluate those as points of departure for new research, and place your proposed research within the context of that work.

• A clear statement of research questions and, where appropriate (but only where appropriate), hypotheses: the proposal should also indicate the relationship between the research question and the methods of data collection and analysis that have been designed to address it. In addition, one might expect some discussion of how existing work in the relevant field relates to, and influences, the research questions.

• A rationale for any theoretical choices made in designing the research.

• A rationale for the methodological choices made in designing the research.

• Where relevant, details of the methods of data collection and the nature of that data, plus an account of the rationale for the choice of those methods.

• Where relevant, details of the methods of data analysis, plus an account of the rationale for the choice of those methods.

• Where appropriate, brief discussion of the primary ethical issues raised by the design of the research, along with an indication of how those issues might best be addressed.

Requirements:

• 2:1 or higher in a relevant discipline.

• Interest in researching a topic within Academy football.

• Experience of delivering athletic development sessions to youth athletes.

• Experience of coaching or playing football.

• Experience or willingness to learn data analysis environments (e.g., R Studio, Power BI)

• A willingness to learn in an environment which is full of challenges.

• International students require IELTS 7.0, with a score no lower than 6.5 in each individual component, or an equivalent English language qualification, at the point of application. The funding for fee’s is for at the UK rate (£5,950), therefore, international students are required to pay a supplement of £11,700 to meet the full MRes international tuition fee.

Our commitment to Equality

At Crystal Palace Football Club, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion is spirited and continues to grow due to the working environment, which makes all staff feel appreciated and welcomed. Crystal Palace Football Club do this by encouraging good relations and practices towards different groups and are committed to promoting employment opportunities that celebrate diversity.

We are committed to attracting, recruiting, and retaining the most talented candidates and the club intends to ensure that everyone who wishes to engage with the club, whether as matchday fans, staff, players, board members, participants in Foundation programmes and any other person engaged with the club's activities, has a real and equal opportunity to do so.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We guarantee an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role, ensuring equitable opportunities for everyone.

If you require disability-related adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact DLO@cpfc.co.uk (DLO inbox is for disability-related queries only, if you wish to gain further information regarding this vacancy, please contact cpfc.recruitment@cpfc.co.uk). We are here to help you through the whole recruitment process including trying to apply for a vacancy, getting in touch with us through the process, and/or helping with access in case you are required to come in for an interview.

Safeguarding

Crystal Palace Football Club is committed to safeguarding and ensuring the welfare and protection of children and vulnerable people and expects all staff to share this commitment. As such, the post holder will be required to undergo any relevant security checks, including a comprehensive background check, Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to ensure the safety and protection of children and vulnerable individuals.