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University of Edinburgh offering free online course about the global impact of football

The University of Edinburgh is currently offering a free online course about football that is open to anyone with Internet access interested in taking it. The six-week course includes contributions from former Liverpool player and Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen and according to The Telegraph, more than 5,000 people have already signed up.

From the course's sign-up page:

This course will introduce you to the global game of football (soccer), why it is called the people’s game, how it has developed in different parts of the world and why major sporting events are important to different countries. It will cover governance, strategy, and leadership in different football settings, identify key people, players and nations and provide a behind the scenes overview of the world of football. It will look at different profiles of football fans, nations, and players in terms of fitness coaching, demographics and economics (i.e. players wages, migration patterns, levels of sponsorship and the role of positive coaching)

Week-by-week summary:

Though it is not a degree course, it will require three hours of work per week and those who complete it will be able to "purchase a statement of participation" that will either serve as tangible proof that they know more about football than their friends who didn't take the course or be laughed at by anyone who sees it hung on the wall of their home or office. Or maybe both.

If this goes well, the university should offer an advanced course that provides participants the chance to buy the title of "Dr. Football."

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Brooks Peck

is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter!