The next generation of Premier League managers could be trained in a county that doesn't even have a team playing in that division.
It's because the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford has announced plans to move into sports management training from September.
"It's obvious to any student of top-flight football, that the ability to see isn't vital. Therefore with the sports facilities we have here in Hereford, it makes sense to usde them to their fullest capacity." the College's Darren Morgan said.
The curriculum for the new course includes modules in swearing, chewing gum, signing expensive but useless players, but the College is pinning the potential success of the course on a module believed to be unique in the footballing world.
"We're sticking to our heritage with a course in not seeing obvious penalties and then maintaining your stance of temporary blindness during endless rounds of press interview. We've already agreed that the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be a guest lecturer, while the Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda is signed up to deliver similar blind-based lectures to potential future match officials."
But the RNCB is not the only educational institution trying to exploit wanna-be professional sportmen and women; from October, The Waltham Forest Academy of Sporting Excellence will offer cricketers courses in match-fixing, including how to choose the best bottle top to achieve reverse swing, and how to deny everything when caugfht red-handed.