The scene resembles an Oxbridge graduation ceremony, but those gathered in caps and gowns are in fact Premier League footballers or former players who have won major honours in Europe and around the world. The 2026 cohort of graduates from the PFA Business School includes Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Coventry City striker Taiwo Awoniyi and a host of well-known figures. In the event at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, Cesar Azpilicueta tells the group how studying on the morning of the 2021 Champions League final helped take his mind off the occasion before he captained Chelsea to a 1-0 win over Manchester City in Porto.
Dewsbury-Hall, 28, travelled by train from Merseyside to London to attend the ceremony and, despite being in the best form of his career, explains why he had completed a postgraduate diploma in global football sport directorship. The former Leicester City and Chelsea player tells 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. "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 assembled players are potential leaders in football's future. Awoniyi, 29, joined Coventry from Nottingham Forest during the summer, and he remains part of Nigeria's squad as they attempt to qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The striker has also continued his studies throughout his playing career.
"I've got a degree in business management and another diploma, so this is my third qualification," he says. Awoniyi's father, Solomon, has previously spoken about his strict approach to education. At times it almost prevented his son from pursuing a career in football, but Awoniyi progressed from the Imperial Soccer Academy to Liverpool before making his name in German football with Union Berlin.
"I say to people I am a quiet dreamer," says 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.
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