The App Changing the Game: How the Premier League Is Powering the Future of Coaching

Jessica Parkijavan isn’t just managing products at the Premier League - she’s changing how elite coaches connect, learn, and grow. As the driving force behind the Pro Coach App, she’s brought together football’s biggest organisations to deliver a single, powerful hub for coaching careers.

From pitch-side usability to real-time jobs boards, Product Manager @ the Premier League, Jessica, reveals how the app is reshaping the future of coach development in the professional game.

What was the original vision behind the Pro Coach App, and why was it needed in professional football?

The Pro Coach App is a project initiated by the Pro Coach Partnership, which is a collective group made of the key stakeholders in English football. The multi-stakeholder partnership is made up of the Premier League, The FA, WSL, the EFL, LMA, LCA and PFA; with the aim of delivering a ‘World-Leading Coach, Manager Education and Development System’ for Academy and senior coaches in the professional game. The partners recognised that, while they were all providing learning and development opportunities such as programmes, qualifications, CPD events and online content, this information was spread across different websites and mailing lists, making it difficult for coaches to access and keep up to date with.

The Pro Coach App was created to solve this challenge. It acts as both an outbound communication tool and a central hub, bringing together the latest news, job opportunities, CPD events, and partner information in one convenient platform that supports coaches throughout their careers.

What were the biggest challenges in designing an app specifically for elite coaches?

One of the biggest challenges was designing an app that truly fit the environment coaches work in. Coaching isn’t a desk-based role, so we needed to optimise the app for people constantly on the move.

For example, we designed it in dark mode to help preserve battery life and reduce screen glare - particularly useful if coaches are scrolling on the team bus before an away match or standing on the side of the training ground under the floodlights. We also made sure the homepage clearly surfaced the latest and most relevant information, as coaches don’t have time to dig through different app sections to stay up to date.

Another challenge was securing regular feedback from coaches themselves. Their schedules are demanding, with matches, training sessions, and player responsibilities leaving little room for product testing. To address this, we piloted the app with coaches enrolled on Premier League development programmes. Their input was really valuable in highlighting accessibility issues and shaping refinements ahead of the wider launch.

How did you manage input from so many stakeholders across the FA, PFA, LMA, EFL, and WSL?

When I first took on the role, I made it a priority to keep stakeholders informed and involved at every stage to keep an agile approach to the project. To streamline communication, I asked each partner to nominate an app representative who became my key point of contact. These representatives came from a range of backgrounds, such as senior management, club-facing staff, UX design, and data, which gave us a broad and balanced perspective. We held monthly meetings where I presented new UI designs, gathered feedback, and updated them on the product roadmap. This regular engagement ensured transparency, built trust, and gave stakeholders confidence that their voices were shaping the app as it evolved.

Can you share an example of a feature that changed significantly based on coach or stakeholder feedback?

Early in the project, I sent a survey to the Heads of Coach Development to understand what coaches wanted from the app and which features they would find most valuable. Initially, the jobs board wasn’t intended to be a central feature. However, the survey revealed that 80% of respondents rated it as “very useful, would definitely use” - one of the highest scores across all proposed features. Based on that feedback, we prioritised the jobs board, giving it prominent placement on the homepage. It has since become the most viewed section of the app.

Another challenge was securing regular feedback from coaches themselves. Their schedules are demanding, with matches, training sessions, and player responsibilities leaving little room for product testing. To address this, we piloted the app with coaches enrolled on Premier League development programmes.

What role did agile and scrum practices play in delivering the app effectively?

We partnered with Kyan, a digital agency, to design and build the app. When I joined the project, an MVP app existed but it wasn’t fit for purpose. I carried out an initial assessment and identified key priorities: a full rebrand, a redesigned homepage and navigation bar, push notification functionality, and a registration mechanism for coaches. We applied agile and scrum practices to structure delivery. The work was organised into sprints which we themed after football mascots (my favourite sprint mascot was Wigan’s ‘Crusty the Pie).

Each sprint had clearly defined sprint goals and we had thorough refinement sessions with the developers to ensure the user stories were sprint ready. Sprint planning and retrospectives ensured progress was transparent, and the daily stand-ups supported quick decision-making and problem-solving.

We also consulted with the App Representative group who acted as a sounding board, providing iterative feedback on new designs and features.

How have coaches and stakeholders responded since the app’s launch?

The app had been in development for a few years before I joined the project, and within a year we were able to launch it to the professional coaching workforce. Since then, the response has been really positive. Stakeholders are pleased to see the product being adopted widely across the coaching community, and uptake has been strong.

We’ve also made a point of keeping Heads of Coaching updated on how many staff from their clubs have registered. We’ve shared this information through a leaderboard which has encouraged a healthy sense of competition, with clubs eager to see their coaches fully engaged and their club at the top of the table.

What lessons did you take from this project, and where do you see the biggest opportunities for app technology in elite coaching next?

The key lesson I’ve taken from this project is the importance of listening to your users. The app was created for coaches, so involving them early and often has been essential. Their feedback has shaped the product and ensured it genuinely meets their needs. As product managers, we like to think we know what’s best for our users, but having the data to back up decisions on the priority of the features can give us the confidence to know we’re building a product our users will love.

Looking ahead, I think there is huge potential for app technology to support elite coaching. I’ve seen some exciting advances in AI-driven tools that can record training sessions on the pitch, automatically transcribe them, and generate actionable insights about the players. These kinds of innovations will give coaches a richer understanding of their work, save time on admin and provide new ways to help their teams perform at their best.