Farbrace's early forays into a coaching career saw him spend two years coaching U15 football at Hampton School. Despite some mediocre results, Hampton's style of football was widely admired throughout the London Schools football scene. Following Hampton, he led England's Under 19 side, and the national women's team in 2000. Following a spell running the Kent Academy, he was appointed as the assistant coach to Trevor Bayliss for Sri Lanka in July 2007. He sustained a minor injury when the Sri Lankan team was attacked by terrorists in Lahore in March 2009.