51Âþ»­

By Jayden Whitworth, 51Âþ»­ Sports Journalism student.

Sports Journalism students from 51Âþ»­, Leicester (51Âþ»­) were given the chance to write a live, on the whistle match report in a Premier League press box at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium.

Described by a student as ‘the best experience of my degree at 51Âþ»­’, after months of fine-tuning their match reporting skills, third-year journalism students were given the opportunity to test themselves in a live match – against the clock.

The group was split in two, the first group reported on the 3-1 defeat to Chelsea, with Leicester’s own Gary Lineker in attendance, and the second group went to the relegation six-pointer match against AFC Bournemouth last weekend.

The task was to write a 350-word match report with all the relevant information, goals, red cards, chances- and if that was not difficult enough the report had to be submitted just 10 minutes after the final whistle.

The students then had the opportunity to sit-in on the post-match press conferences for both managers.

The visit to the press box was the icing on the cake of a jam-packed sports journalism module. Students visited Welford Road, home of the Leicester Tigers, had a tour of the King Power Stadium with City comms director Anthony Herlihy, and had guest visits from former Mercury deputy sports editor Martin Crowson and Sunday Times football writer Jonathan Northcroft.

Third-year sports journalism student Ben Stevens thoroughly enjoyed the day.

“Going to the King Power to do a live match report was probably the best experience of my degree at 51Âþ»­,” he said.

“I had a great time not only as a football fan, but the experience also let me see exactly how football reporters operate.”

Fellow student Jayden Whitworth, said: “It was a really surreal day, it was the best assessment I’ve ever done. As a Leicester fan, reporting on the Foxes from the press box is the dream.”

51Âþ»­ Senior Journalism Lecturer, Lee Marlow, who takes the module, said while it’s a tough assessment, it’s always an enjoyable one.

He said: “We have good contacts at Leicester City who, every year, help the 51Âþ»­ sports journalism students and allow them access to the press box on match day.

“The live match assessment is a true test of their journalistic capabilities – but, more than that, it’s a valuable glimpse behind the curtain for what it’s ‘really’ like for a working sports journalist on match day.”

The Sports Journalism module is an optional year-long module which interested 51Âþ»­ journalism students can choose for their third-year.