by Editor
A FOOTBALL website established and run by a University of South Wales Sports Journalism student has been shortlisted for ‘Best International Football Blog’ by the prestigious Football Blogging Awards.
Jordan Jones’ Y Clwb Pel-Droed is one of ten finalists in the category. The awards were launched in 2012 to recognise the best football blogs from around the world.
Y Clwb Pel Droed was set up by Jones in 2015 with the aim of bringing coverage to the Welsh domestic game. It started as a Twitter account and developed into a website as interest grew.
The website has accumulated almost 500k views and the team behind it is part of the Welsh Premier Leagues’ decision panel for the Manager and Player of the Month awards.
“To be named as one of the finalists at the Football Blogging Awards fills me with pride,” said Cardiff-born Jones.
“Our work has been recognised by a respected event and I’m looking forward to attending the event, where I have the chance to network with some of the most innovative individuals in sports journalism.
Three other USW undergraduates contribute to the website; Sports Journalism students Ethan Harris and Tom Pritchard and Photojournalism student Matthew Lofthouse.
Sports Journalism course leader Julie Kissick said: “I’m proud that the work Jordan and our other students have put into Y Clwb Pel-Droed has been recognised on an international stage.
“This is a huge achievement so early in their journalistic careers and I hope it will be the first of many accolades for them.
“Jordan really tapped into a gap in the market when he established Y Clwb Pel-Droed and its growth goes to show that there is a thirst for coverage of football at this level in Wales.”
Big hitters in the world of sport including journalist Jacqui Oatley and broadcasters Gary Lineker and Stan Collymore are among those shortlisted in the ‘Best Football Influencer’ category.
Y Clwb Pel-Droed is representing Wales in a category which includes an Inter Milan blog called SempreInter.com, as well as an Algerian football blog, DZFootball_En.
“I work with an English and French student from Warwick University as the two key admins, working with a variety of writers through the whole of Wales,” added Jones.
“We cover the Welsh Premier League and the leagues below it, such as the Cymru Alliance, the Welsh Football League and the other leagues which feed into the Welsh pyramid system.
“We have also covered women’s football, as well as recently attending the Wales semi-professional fixture with England back in March, which saw big traffic on our website.”
The final round of voting ends at 10pm on Bank Holiday Monday, May 7, and the winners will be revealed at the Football Blogging Awards ceremony at Alexandra Palace on May 17th, 2018.
Voting is via Football Blogging Awards or by tweeting:
“I am voting in @theFBAs for @YClwbPelDroed to win the #FBAInternational Category #FBAs.”
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