Dr. Christian Edwards is the head coach of the Cardiff Met men’s soccer team and a senior lecturer in Sports Coaching Science at the Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences.
Edwards guided Cardiff Met FC to the 2019 UEFA Europa League, becoming the first British university to field a male football team in European competition.
The unprecedented performance of students against professional captured the European football world. He also coached Cardiff Met to win promotion through four levels of the Welsh football system to their current spot in the Welsh Premier League.
“I expected attention from local and national press, but certainly not global coverage,” Edwards said. “For about three weeks I did constant interviews with papers, even from Italy, Germany and Russia. We’d worked so hard and it was incredible the level of scope and status the story received. We opened a new market for Cardiff Met and university sport in general. We really bridged levels.”
Edwards joined the teaching staff at Cardiff Met in 2010. His research interests relate to the sociological issues within sport, most notably that of coaches power and social interaction in the coaching context.
His doctoral work examined the sociological significance of humour and how it is used as a critical component in the negotiation of coaching relationships.
Edwards was awarded Fellowship status of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in 2014. Alongside his academic role, he is also an elite level practitioner, where he is a currently UEFA Pro Licence Candidate.
As a player, Edwards made more than 300 Football League appearances, most prominently for Swansea City, Nottingham Forest and Bristol Rovers. He also represented Wales at full international and under-21 levels.
Edwards’ story as part of our Transatlantic Storytelling documentary, which features never-before-seen video, is being produced by Cory Vervnyckt.
Christian Edwards Videos
Follow @CardiffMetFC