One of the world’s most successful football clubs has teamed up with Edinburgh University to advance education through football.

FC Barcelona has signed an agreement that will see the university support and promote a range of online courses offered by the Catalan club.

The partnership will deliver one-month courses that provide an introduction to subjects including sports law and ethics.

More advanced four-month courses will focus on a broader range of topics, such as sports psychology, facilities management, sports nutrition, and communications.

Marcos Picalló, Barça Universitas manager, said: "We are delighted to have signed an agreement with the university which recognises the increasing global importance of online tuition.

"High-quality professional learning is a key aim for FC Barça and this three-year agreement with Edinburgh will enable us to deliver that, with the potential to do much more.”

Professor Grant Jarvie, chair of the university’s Academy of Sport, said: “Sport is a powerful enabler and by working with FC Barcelona we can reach new communities across the globe. Together, we are determined to use education to enrich and improve people’s lives, wherever in the world they live.”

The University is a pioneer in online learning. It offers more than 80 online postgraduate programmes, whilst Edinburgh’s Massive Open Online Courses are free and open to anyone.

The MOOC Football, More than a Game was launched in 2014 and will run again in January 2019 in partnership with Hibernian FC. The Edinburgh team was voted Scotland’s 2018 best professional club in the community.

The FC Barcelona delegation visited Hibernian’s stadium yesterday and will today visit the national stadium at Hampden.

Charlie Bennet, chief executive officer for the Hibernian Community Foundation, said: “We are delighted to welcome both FC Barcelona and the University of Edinburgh to Easter Road. We all have a similar commitment in using football to deliver education and look forward to exchanging ideas and learning from each other."