Dr. Jacob Griffiths
UCFB Manchester
Course Lecturer
Sports Coaching and Performance
Dr. Jacob Griffiths completed his PhD at the University of Chester with a thesis titled ‘A figurational examination of the working lives of backroom staff in men’s professional football clubs in the United Kingdom’.
He also holds a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Sciences and MSc in the Sociology of Sport and Exercise, both from the University of Chester. Jacob joined UCFB Manchester in January 2024, where he primarily teaches research methods, as well as scouting, recruitment and talent identification.
His research interests focus on the working lives of those within the football industry, scouting and talent identification, the sociology of sport, and qualitative research methods. Jacob is also the Editorial Assistant for the European Physical Education Review. He is also a qualified football scout, holding an FA Level 2 and Professional Football Scouts Association Level 3 accreditation. He has experience working on behalf of professional football clubs in the United Kingdom as a first-team scout.
Area of expertise
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Working Lives within Professional Football
- Talent Identification and Scouting
- Sociology of Sport
Expertise in industry
- First-Team Scouting and Recruitment
- Research Project Design and Delivery
- Backroom Staff Within Professional Football Clubs
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Talent Identification and Scouting
- Sociology of Sport
- Figurational Sociology and Sport
- Using Social Media Within Academic Research
- PhD Sport and Exercise Science, University of Chester
- BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Chester
- MSc Sociology of Sport and Exercise, University of Chester
- Member of the International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA).
- Member of the Professional Football Scouts Association’s (PFSA) Scouting Network.
- Griffiths, J., & Bloyce, D. (2023). ‘If you haven’t got the contacts… you have no choice’: A figurational examination of unpaid work in football scouting in men’s professional football in England. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 58(1), 87-107.
- Griffiths, J., Bloyce, D., & Law, G. (2025). LinkedIn as a research participant recruitment tool: Reflections from the football industry. Qualitative Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-04-2024-0085