Imagine if your all-time favourite football team presented you with rare opportunity to gain exclusive access to report on their home matchdays?
Well that’s exactly what happened for University of Manchester student and lifelong Blue Harry Newton who now has season-long press access to report on all of Manchester City’s home matches for his weekly university newspaper.
The opportunity was available to students at the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford University who were asked to write up a report on their favourite football match of all time.
Those with the best entries were then invited to the City Football Academy, Manchester City’s elite training ground, for an interview with the Club’s media team.
The year-long initiative sees Harry, 20, an aspiring sports journalist from Denton, rubbing shoulders with respected sports reporters from around the world and compiling match reports right from the press box at the Etihad Stadium.
As part of the opportunity, Harry also attends the Club’s weekly press conferences with Pep Guardiola and top Manchester City players, where alongside the world’s press, he’s one of the first to know the latest team news. In addition, Harry has access to the in-house media and journalism team at the Club for advice and support throughout the season.
Harry publishes his reports on all of Manchester City’s home matches in Manchester-based student newspaper The Mancunion and on its accompanying website.
Coming from a long line of true blue supporters, Harry hopes that this exclusive opportunity will help him to achieve his lifelong goal of becoming a top sports journalist.
Speaking of his experience to date, Harry commented: “It’s a really exciting time to be involved with the Club as they strive to be one of the very best in the world. My aim is to become a professional sports journalist, so the chance to work alongside high profile sports reporters from around the world makes my dream feel that little bit closer. It’s also great to know that I can turn to the media and content teams at Manchester City for advice on working in the world of sports media.”
Chris Bailey, Editor in Chief of the Content team at Manchester City, said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer this experience to Harry. As a Club we’re committed to inspiring and supporting youngsters both on and off the pitch. We hope that Harry continues to develop the skills he needs to have a successful career in sports journalism.”
