First Team Physiotherapist

Crystal Palace FC; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Complimentary match day ticket

Reward and Discount Scheme

Health and Wellbeing benefit scheme

20% discounts in retail stores

GymFlex discounts

Volunteering Day

Travel Season Ticket loan

Holiday allowance: 25 Days

Job summary

Crystal Palace FC is seeking an experienced First Team Physiotherapist to support Men’s First-Team players with rehabilitation and return-to-play. You will implement individualized plans, monitor progress and collaborate with medical, sport science and performance staff to optimise player availability.

The role requires HCPC/CSP registration, strong experience in football medicine, and flexibility to support evenings, weekends and matchdays.

Qualifications

• Experience in elite sport with musculoskeletal injuries and rehabilitation.
• HCPC and CSP registration; eligible to practise in the UK.
• Postgraduate qualifications or active progression in sports medicine related fields.
• Awareness of football medicine research and best practices.

Responsibilities

• Plan and deliver individualized rehabilitation programmes aligned with rehabilitation philosophy.
• Lead and contribute to player availability/performance plans considering medical and performance factors.
• Support recovery, sleep, nutrition and lifestyle within player plans.
• Conduct objective testing and data-informed assessments to monitor progress.
• Contribute to departmental research, audits and clinical governance.
• Share knowledge across medical departments and maintain HCPC compliant notes.
• Attend fixtures and accompany players to medical appointments as required.
• Maintain rehabilitation hub of athlete data management system.

Skills

Elite sport experience

Football medicine knowledge

Flexibility

Multilingual capability

Education

BSc/MSc in Physiotherapy

HCPC/CSP registration

Postgraduate qualifications in Sports Medicine / Strength & Conditioning / Sport Science (MSc/PhD)

ATMMIF qualification

Job description

Who we are:

We are Crystal Palace Football Club, a Premier League Football Club with more than 160 years of proud history. Spread across three different sites - brand new main offices at Selhurst Park Stadium, our London office, and our Training Ground/Academy, we offer the best atmosphere and culture for our fans and our employees.

Job Location: Training Ground, BR3 1RJ

Contract Type: Full-time

Deadline: 24th September 2026

About this role:

Crystal Palace FC is seeking an experienced First Team Physiotherapist to provide exceptional physiotherapy services to our Men’s First-Team players through:

• Progressing individual return-to-play pathways, ensuring optimal player recovery and reducing risk of re-injury (or secondary injury) amongst injured players
• Maintaining high player availability through the accurate assessment, treatment, and individual programming of non-injured players

Responsibilities:

• Plan and deliver individualised, evidence-informed rehabilitation programmes aligned with the club's rehabilitation philosophy, team periodisation and the evolving demands of Premier League football.
• Design and implement individualised short, medium, and long-term rehabilitation programmes tailored to the player’s stage of recovery and position-specific demands, ensuring integration of the broader interdisciplinary team to enhance player experience and drive performance outcomes.
• Lead and/or contribute to the development of dynamic individual availability/performance plans for allocated players, integrating medical, physical performance, psychological and lifestyle factors.
• Support holistic player health by reinforcing high-performance behaviours relating to recovery, sleep, nutrition and lifestyle, and appropriately integrating these considerations into individual player plans.
• Conduct objective testing and data-informed assessments to monitor player progress across key health and performance variables.
• Contribute to departmental research, audit and innovation, critically appraising emerging evidence and translating relevant findings into clinical practice.
• Share knowledge across the Men’s First Team, Academy and Women's medical departments and contribute to the development of consistent club-wide clinical and rehabilitation standards.
• Communicate effectively with the Head of Medical to ensure they are kept up to date on all medical matters relating to Men’s First Team players.
• Design and deliver daily tailored rehabilitation sessions, both one-to-one and small-group, in the gym and on the pitch for injured players.
• Liaise closely with all Sport Science and Medical team members to ensure the delivery of a service which inspires player performance through individualised care and positive connection.
• Develop strong, trusting relationships with players through excellent communication, shared decision-making and clear explanation of diagnosis, risk, rehabilitation progression and availability.
• Lead and support continual enhancement of injury prevention strategies and rehabilitation protocols, ensuring alignment with evidence-informed best practice in elite sport.
• Produce phase-specific rehabilitation plans (daily, weekly, medium/long term) and share with key stakeholders.
• Review and provide your clinical opinion on the management of all Men’s First Team injuries as required by the Head of Medical.
• Lead on the rehabilitation of injured players as required by the Head of Medical.
• Accompany players to medical appointments as required.
• Carry out departmental administration tasks as required.
• Produce daily and weekly rehabilitation plans for sports science and medicine staff.
• Participate in pre-signing medical assessments where required, contributing physiotherapy and musculoskeletal expertise to the assessment and communication of future availability risk.
• Develop the rehabilitation hub of the Crystal Palace Football Club athlete data management system.
• Maintain the highest standards of clinical governance within a sporting environment, including (but not limited to) the maintenance of accurate and up-to-date clinical notes in keeping with HCPC regulations, participating in After-Action Reviews for all significant events, and updating medical processes in line with evidence-based practice.
• Contribute to a culture of continuous learning and improvement, including rehabilitation case reviews, after-action reviews, audit, CPD and feedback processes.
• Demonstrate the professional behaviours expected within a high-trust, high-performance environment, including accountability, collaboration, discretion, adaptability and a commitment to continuous personal development.
• Take defined ownership of an agreed departmental performance area, such as muscle injury surveillance, rehabilitation frameworks, player availability, clinical audit or another strategic priority.
• Attend all fixtures as required (according to the staff rota and department needs).
• Other duties and responsibilities as required by line manager.
• Upholding and promoting the Club’s policies and procedures, including Health and Safety, Safeguarding and Equal Opportunities policies and procedures.

Experience, Skills and Qualifications:

• Demonstrable experience working within elite sport (preferably with experience working in football), with experience managing musculoskeletal injuries and delivering return-to-performance rehabilitation.
• BSc/MSc in Physiotherapy.
• Postgraduate qualifications in Sports Medicine / Strength & Conditioning / Sport Science (MSc/PhD) - working towards, or motivated to work towards.
• HCPC and CSP registration.
• Up-to-date ATMMIF qualification (or equivalent).
• Knowledgeable of current football medicine research.
• Be flexible to support evening, weekend, and match-day rehabilitation and recovery needs when required.
• Additional language capability, particularly French, Spanish or Portuguese, would be advantageous given the department’s explicit strategic objective around multilingual capability.

Benefits:

• Complimentary match day ticket
• Reward and Discount Scheme through our Tech Scheme and Simple Health app
• Health and Wellbeing benefit scheme
• 20% Discount in our Retail Stores
• Discounts in various gyms through GymFlex
• Volunteering Day - 1 Workday off to support a charity of your choice.
• Travel Season Ticket loan
• Holiday allowance: 25 Days

Our commitment to Equality

At Crystal Palace Football Club, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion is spirited and continues to grow due to the working environment, which makes all staff feel appreciated and welcomed. Crystal Palace Football Club do this by encouraging good relations and practices towards different groups and are committed to promoting employment opportunities that celebrate diversity.

We are committed to attracting, recruiting, and retaining the most talented candidates and the club intends to ensure that everyone who wishes to engage with the club, whether as matchday fans, staff, players, board members, participants in Foundation programmes and any other person engaged with the club's activities, has a real and equal opportunity to do so.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We guarantee an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role, ensuring equitable opportunities for everyone.

If you require disability-related adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail] (DLO inbox is for disability-related queries only, if you wish to gain further information regarding this vacancy, please contact [e-mail]). We are here to help you through the whole recruitment process including trying to apply for a vacancy, getting in touch with us through the process, and/or helping with access in case you are required to come in for an interview.

Safeguarding

Crystal Palace Football Club is committed to safeguarding and ensuring the welfare and protection of children and vulnerable people and expects all staff to share this commitment. As such, the post holder will be required to undergo any relevant security checks, including a comprehensive background check, Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to ensure the safety and protection of children and vulnerable individuals.