The scene could easily be mistaken for an Oxbridge graduation ceremony, complete with the time-honored tradition of caps, gowns, and the quiet pride of academic accomplishment. However, those gathered in academic dress are not traditional university scholars or recent graduates stepping out of lecture halls. Instead, they are Premier League footballers and former players who have spent their careers collecting major honors on pitches across Europe and around the world, proving that intellectual ambition can thrive alongside elite athletic performance.
The 2026 cohort of graduates from the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Business School features several notable figures from the modern game, including Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Coventry City striker Taiwo Awoniyi, and a wide-ranging roster of well-known names who are quietly preparing for life after their playing days come to an end.
The graduation event, hosted at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, brought together a community of players looking to challenge prevailing stereotypes about professional athletes. Among the speakers was former Chelsea and Spain defender Cesar Azpilicueta, who shared a remarkable insight into his own academic journey with the assembled group. Azpilicueta revealed to his fellow graduates how studying on the morning of the 2021 Champions League final actually helped take his mind off the immense pressure of the occasion, just hours before he captained Chelsea to a historic 1-0 victory over Manchester City in Porto.
For many in attendance, the journey to graduation required balancing demanding training schedules, tactical briefings, and relentless match calendars with rigorous academic coursework. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, currently enjoying some of the finest form of his career, traveled by train from Merseyside to London to attend the ceremony. Despite playing at the highest level of English football, the 28-year-old midfielder successfully completed a postgraduate diploma in global football sport directorship, demonstrating a proactive approach to his long-term future in the sport.
Reflecting on his motivation for pursuing the qualification, the former Leicester City and Chelsea player explained his perspective to BBC Sport. "I hope I’ve got a long time left in football. But as a person, I’m always trying to learn and develop away from the pitch. I don’t want to stop playing and then just sit around doing nothing," Dewsbury-Hall said.
"This was something that genuinely interested me. Whether I use it in the future, we’ll see, but it’s always good to do it now rather than wait until you’ve finished playing. If the time ever comes when an opportunity presents itself, luckily I’ve got something that can help me."
The players gathered at the Emirates Stadium represent a new generation of potential leaders in football’s administrative, executive, and tactical future. Among them is Coventry City striker Taiwo Awoniyi, whose path to graduation highlights a lifelong commitment to education that dates back to his upbringing in Nigeria. The 29-year-old forward, who joined Coventry from Nottingham Forest during the summer transfer window, continues to feature regularly as part of the Nigeria national squad as they attempt to secure qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Balancing international football, club commitments, and rigorous academic study is no small feat, yet Awoniyi has consistently prioritized his education throughout his professional journey. "I’ve got a degree in business management and another diploma, so this is my third qualification," he noted, displaying a quiet pride in his academic achievements.
Awoniyi’s dedication to his studies stems from a promise made early in life to his father, Solomon, whose strict and uncompromising approach to education nearly steered his son away from pursuing a career in professional football altogether. Despite those early tensions, Awoniyi successfully progressed from the Imperial Soccer Academy to English giants Liverpool before eventually making his name in German football with Union Berlin.
"I say to people I am a quiet dreamer," said Awoniyi, who was born in Ilorin, Nigeria. "I always felt education was important. It was a promise I made to my dad that if I played football, I would keep studying. That’s what I have done and I am proud of it."
Throughout his career, Awoniyi has faced significant challenges, pointing candidly to the "ups and downs" that inevitably accompany professional sport. His resilience was tested severely in May 2025, when he suffered a life-threatening, serious injury during a match for Nottingham Forest against Leicester City. Following a violent collision with a goalpost that resulted in a ruptured intestine, Awoniyi was placed in a medically induced coma. Surviving such a harrowing ordeal reinforced his perspective on life, emphasizing the importance of continuous self-improvement and recognizing that there is a vast world existing far beyond the confines of the football pitch.
This philosophy underpins the appeal of the PFA’s educational initiatives. Awoniyi believes that professional athletes often underestimate the amount of free time available to them outside of standard training hours. "It’s not like a 9-5 job in football. We go in and sometimes finish quite early and, although it’s challenging, I think every footballer has time in the evening for something like this business school," he explained.
"Of course, it demands a lot from you and it’s all about how willing you are to do it. I say to people there are a lot of things that are bigger than football. Yes, football is our passion, but we are normal human beings as well and maybe that’s something the world doesn’t always see."
At the graduation ceremony, the athletes looked indistinguishable from any other group of students celebrating the culmination of years of hard work. Awoniyi proudly shared the milestone with members of his extended family who had traveled to support him, while Dewsbury-Hall took the opportunity to catch up with former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill—now working extensively within Qatari football—to discuss the finer points and art of scoring goals at the elite level.
The interactions highlighted the broader cultural shift occurring within the dressing rooms of modern football clubs. Dewsbury-Hall was quick to address the persistent cultural stereotypes that often surround professional athletes. "Obviously there are stereotypes around footballers," he remarked. "But in every industry there are smart people and there are people who aren’t so smart. You’d be surprised how many intelligent people there are in football."
He added that while formal study may not appeal to every player due to differing personal interests, the capability is widely distributed across the sport. "Maybe some players just don’t want to do things like this, but they easily could. It’s just not their passion. I’m not saying this is my passion, but it’s something I’ve done to show that footballers can complete these kinds of courses while they’re still playing. Who knows where it will lead?"
The PFA Business School course is intentionally structured to accommodate the demanding and unpredictable lifestyles of professional athletes. The curriculum is designed to run parallel to an active football career, with seminars and coursework scheduled carefully to minimize direct clashes with competitive matches, tactical meetings, and daily training sessions. This flexibility allows players the freedom to study entirely at their own pace and in their own time, though it occasionally leads to humorous moments away from the training ground. Dewsbury-Hall admitted with a smile that he has often received "weird looks" from fellow travelers while studying on his iPad during long journeys home following grueling away fixtures.
Every graduate in the 2026 cohort brings a unique background and career trajectory to the academic environment. For Wycombe Wanderers defender Steve Cook, who previously captained Bournemouth during their campaigns in the Premier League, enrolling in the course marked his first return to formal education since his traditional school days. Having already accumulated valuable experience by obtaining his coaching badges, Cook is acutely aware that he is approaching the twilight of his playing days and is taking calculated steps toward his transition.
While some graduates may not actively deploy their newly acquired business and managerial expertise for many years while they continue playing, veteran leader Cesar Azpilicueta firmly believes that the academic pursuit delivers immediate, tangible benefits to an athlete’s current career. "It’s not only about preparing for life after football. It’s about becoming a better version of yourself in your football career as well," the former Spain international, who concluded his illustrious playing career at the end of last season, told BBC Sport.
For Azpilicueta, intellectual curiosity and structured education have been foundational pillars of his life, directly contributing to his reputation as a commanding leader both on and off the pitch. His journey in professional football began at an exceptionally young age when he turned professional with his hometown club, Osasuna, at just 17 years old. Up to that point, he had maintained his academic studies diligently. Although he initially had to pause his formal degree studies upon becoming a full-time professional athlete, his commitment to learning never waned. Years later, during his highly successful nine-year spell with Chelsea, Azpilicueta returned to academia to complete an MBA at Harvard University in the United States.
His unwavering dedication to balancing his studies even with the highest stakes in club football was epitomized by his pre-match routine five years ago ahead of the Champions League final. While most players utilize the hours leading up to a major final for physical rest and mental isolation, Azpilicueta found solace in his books. "Normally I’d have a nap after lunch if the game was later in the day, but that day it was impossible. You could hear the fans and you knew a big game was coming up. Having my studies also helped me focus and improve myself away from football," he explained.
Having officially brought the curtain down on his playing days following spells with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, Azpilicueta remains deliberate about his next steps, noting that he will not rush into any hasty decisions regarding his post-playing career.
The comprehensive PFA course is structured to provide players with a holistic understanding of the modern sports landscape. It features expert sessions and lectures from prominent industry leaders, such as Brighton chief executive Paul Barber, which are specifically designed to help students comprehend how the various commercial, operational, and administrative cogs of the football industry function behind the scenes.
For now, the immediate focus for many of these graduates remains firmly rooted on the pitch, where matches, league tables, and competitive ambitions continue to demand their daily attention. However, as the celebrations at the Emirates Stadium demonstrated, the landscape of professional football is evolving. Among this year’s cohort of graduates are the future managers, coaches, club executives, and sporting directors who are quietly equipping themselves to shape and influence the game for decades to come.