(FINAL) LO4: Be able to write & edit a news article for an identified purpose

FIRST DRAFT

The Rising Popularity of Non-league Football

Football, the most popular sport in the world. It’s played in almost every country and is renowned for being involved with ludicrous amounts of money. This year alone over £1bn was spent on player transfers in the Premier League (England’s first division) and with companies like Sky and BT Sports having an increasing influence on the beautiful game, the commercialisation of English football is only set to increase. One of the most famous footballing quotes of all time was spoken by ex-Celtic manager Jock Stein “Football is nothing without fans” and despite the large amounts of money in the modern game, this quote still rings true. Many fans are choosing to leave behind the commercialist glamour of the professional game for something more real, something closer to what football was meant to be; a game for the working class where the players are ‘real people’, not celebrities and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to go and watch them play. Non-league football appears to fill the void for many people who feel that the professional game has lost its way and in this article, I will investigate why non-league football is becoming so popular.

After conducting primary research contacting fans of non-league clubs like Lincoln, St Albans City, Southport and Athersley Recreation a clear pattern emerges as to why people choose to watch non-league football as well as or instead of the professional game. Money. Not how much player’s cost or how much they are paid but the price of simply watching a team play. On average it costs between £30 and £40 for a ticket to see a game in the Premier League; almost double the price of attending a non-league fixture, the average price for which is £16. This has led to many fans being priced out of watching their local club. Those that cannot commit themselves to attend enough games to warrant the purchase of a season ticket are forced to spend around 8% of their weekly wage on one match ticket (according to the Guardian UK median weekly pay is £517). With the price of travel and parking on match day as well as a programme and refreshments during the game, the average day out to the football is becoming more of a luxury hobby instead of a working class one.

 

The ever-increasing commercialisation of modern football has also led to a poorer atmosphere at most large grounds. In an article ranking all the grounds in the premier league in terms of atmosphere (written by Jim White for The Telegraph) the grounds that play home to some of the most successful teams in the league come at the bottom of the list and in my opinion only one of the top eight on the list could be considered a “big club”. It is because of this that many fans of “big clubs” are starting to support non-league teams. Dulwich Hamlet FC play in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, the seventh tier of English football. Their average attendance is 1300, which is impressive when you take into account what league they play in and the location of their ground. Champion Hill, home of the hamlets, is located less than 5 miles away from the grounds of large professional clubs like Chelsea, Millwall and Crystal Palace. Despite being in spitting distance of Stamford Bridge, Champion Hill is renowned for having an electric atmosphere, something all football fans long to have at their clubs.

The results of my primary research show that around 70% of people who attend both professional and non-league football matches would rather attend a non-league football match. When asked why the standout reason is that of the atmosphere of non-league. “The fans are better”, “there are fewer tourists”; so many describe non-league as football in its purest form, where you feel closer to the club, rather than a corporation style professional club. Where supporters are seen as real people not just a number in the system, where you can really feel the passion of the players.

In my opinion, it is clear to see why non-league football is increasing in popularity; but as with anything that starts to become mainstream, large corporations are starting to cash in on the grass roots form of the country’s most popular sport which some think could ruin everything that makes non-league so special. For the first time ever, starting in the 2016/2017 season, certain non-league football matches were televised. In total, fourteen matches were shown across all three BT Sports channels throughout the season; including the National League Play-Off final, the FA Vase Final and the FA Trophy Final. Some fans of non-league are happy that games are starting to be televised and want large companies like Sky and BT to broadcast more in the coming seasons. However, others, like myself, are sceptical of the growing TV coverage. Many agree that publicity for the lower leagues is a good thing as it helps make people aware of what’s happening in the conference which is important for fans of football teams in League 2, the lowest professional football league, as it makes it easier for them to find out which new teams they will get to watch their team play against in the next season. However, many people would also agree that the football leagues need to be wary of not selling out to companies such as Sky and avoid commercialising the leagues, as this would kill the atmosphere and possibly drive fans away. It is clear to see why people don’t want non-league football to be televised, as they are scared it would just go down the same path as the professional leagues.


Self Assessment

WWW: My article flows well and gives a good insight into the chosen topic by backing up points using results from primary research.

EBI: I need to add a conclusion 


EVIDENCE OF SUB-EDITING

• Remove "in this article", to sound more professional
• Capital "G" for Guardian (newspaper)
• Reword the sentence about the Telegraph article
• Remove "The results of my primary research show that" from the start of the second-to-last paragraph to make the article sound more professional
• Add a conclusion

DRAFT 2

Football, the most popular sport in the world. It’s played in almost every country and is renowned for being involved with ludicrous amounts of money. This year alone over £1bn was spent on player transfers in the Premier League (England’s first division) and with companies like Sky and BT Sports having an increasing influence on the beautiful game, the commercialisation of English football is only set to increase. One of the most famous footballing quotes of all time was spoken by ex-Celtic manager Jock Stein “Football is nothing without fans” and despite the large amounts of money in the modern game, this quote still rings true. Many fans are choosing to leave behind the commercialist glamour of the professional game for something more real, something closer to what football was meant to be; a game for the working class where the players are ‘real people’, not celebrities and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to go and watch them play. Non-league football appears to fill the void for many people who feel that the professional game has lost its way and I intend to investigate why non-league football is becoming so popular.

After contacting fans of non-league clubs like Lincoln, St Albans City, Southport and Athersley Recreation a clear pattern emerges as to why people choose to watch non-league football as well as or instead of the professional game. Money. Not how much player’s cost or how much they are paid but the price of simply watching a team play. On average it costs between £30 and £40 for a ticket to see a game in the Premier League; almost double the price of attending a non-league fixture, the average price for which is £16. This has led to many fans being priced out of watching their local club. Those that cannot commit themselves to attend enough games to warrant the purchase of a season ticket are forced to spend around 8% of their weekly wage on one match ticket (according to The Guardian UK median weekly pay is £517). With the price of travel and parking on match day as well as a programme and refreshments during the game, the average day out to the football is becoming more of a luxury hobby instead of a working class one.

 

The ever-increasing commercialisation of modern football has also led to a poorer atmosphere at most large grounds. At the end of the 2015/2016 season, The Telegraph published an article ranking all the grounds in the Premier League in terms of atmosphere. The grounds that play home to some of the most successful teams in the league come at the bottom of the list and in my opinion, only one of the top eight on the list could be considered a “big club”. It is because of this that many fans of “big clubs” are starting to support non-league teams. Dulwich Hamlet FC play in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, the seventh tier of English football. Their average attendance is 1300, which is impressive when you take into account what league they play in and the location of their ground. Champion Hill, home of the hamlets, is located less than 5 miles away from the grounds of large professional clubs like Chelsea, Millwall and Crystal Palace. Despite being in spitting distance of Stamford Bridge, Champion Hill is renowned for having an electric atmosphere, something all football fans long to have at their clubs.

Around 70% of people who attend both professional and non-league football matches would rather attend a non-league football match. When asked why the standout reason is that of the atmosphere of non-league. “The fans are better”, “there are fewer tourists”; so many describe non-league as football in its purest form, where you feel closer to the club, rather than a corporation style professional club. Where supporters are seen as real people not just a number in the system, where you can really feel the passion of the players.

In my opinion, it is clear to see why non-league football is increasing in popularity; but as with anything that starts to become mainstream, large corporations are starting to cash in on the grass roots form of the country’s most popular sport which some think could ruin everything that makes non-league so special. For the first time ever, starting in the 2016/2017 season, certain non-league football matches were televised. In total, fourteen matches were shown across all three BT Sports channels throughout the season; including the National League Play-Off final, the FA Vase Final and the FA Trophy Final. Some fans of non-league are happy that games are starting to be televised and want large companies like Sky and BT to broadcast more in the coming seasons. However, others, like myself, are sceptical of the growing TV coverage. Many agree that publicity for the lower leagues is a good thing as it helps make people aware of what’s happening in the conference which is important for fans of football teams in League 2, the lowest professional football league, as it makes it easier for them to find out which new teams they will get to watch their team play against in the next season. However, many people would also agree that the football leagues need to be wary of not selling out to companies such as Sky and avoid commercialising the leagues, as this would kill the atmosphere and possibly drive fans away. It is clear to see why people don’t want non-league football to be televised, as they are scared it would just go down the same path as the professional leagues.

So as you can see, several factors have resulted in the rise of non-league football and I personally feel like the popularity of the non-professional game is only set to increase. The only way for Premier League clubs to recapture the fans they have lost to non-league would be to go back to the way things used to be before multi-million pound TV deals; however, the likelihood of this happening is extremely slim. Personally, I feel that the majority of people wouldn’t want to turn back time on the footballing world. Those that approve of the increasing commercialism are happy with the direction that the sport is heading in, and those that have given up on professional football to follow non-league have found themselves a new passion. Whatever the case the future of English football as a whole is looking very bright, particularly for the country’s smaller clubs, which can only be a good thing as everyone loves an underdog don’t they.

EVIDENCE OF SUB-EDITING 2

FINAL ARTICLE

The Rising Popularity of Non-league Football

Football. The most popular sport in the world. It’s played in almost every country and is renowned for being involved with ludicrous amounts of money. This year alone over £1bn was spent on player transfers in the Premier League (England’s first division) and with companies like Sky and BT Sports having an increasing influence on the beautiful game, the commercialisation of English football is only set to increase. One of the most famous footballing quotes of all time was spoken by ex-Celtic manager Jock Stein “Football is nothing without fans” and despite the large amounts of money in the modern game, this quote still rings true. Many fans are choosing to leave behind the commercialist glamour of the professional game for something more real, something closer to what football was meant to be; a game for the working class where the players are ‘real people’, not celebrities and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to go and watch them play. Non-league football appears to fill the void for many people who feel that the professional game has lost its way and we intend to investigate why non-league football is becoming so popular.

After contacting fans of non-league clubs like Lincoln, St Albans City, Southport and Athersley Recreation a clear pattern emerges as to why people choose to watch non-league football as well as or instead of the professional game. Money. Not how much player’s cost or how much they are paid but the price of simply watching a team play. On average it costs between £30 and £40 for a ticket to see a game in the Premier League; almost double the price of attending a non-league fixture, the average price for which is £16. This has led to many fans being priced out of watching their local club. Those that cannot commit themselves to attend enough games to warrant the purchase of a season ticket are forced to spend around 8% of their weekly wage on one match ticket (according to The Guardian UK median weekly pay is £517). With the price of travel and parking on match day as well as a programme and refreshments during the game, the average day out to the football is becoming more of a luxury hobby instead of a working class one.

 

The ever-increasing commercialisation of modern football has also led to a poorer atmosphere at most large grounds. At the end of the 2015/2016 season, The Telegraph ranked all the grounds in the Premier League in terms of atmosphere. The grounds that play home to some of the most successful teams in the league come at the bottom of the list and in my opinion, only one of the top eight on the list could be considered a “big club”. It is because of this that many fans of “big clubs” are starting to support non-league teams. Dulwich Hamlet FC play in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, the seventh tier of English football. Their average attendance is 1300, which is impressive when you take into account what league they play in and the location of their ground. Champion Hill, home of the hamlets, is located less than 5 miles away from the grounds of large professional clubs like Chelsea, Millwall and Crystal Palace. Despite being in spitting distance of Stamford Bridge, Champion Hill is renowned for having an electric atmosphere, something all football fans long to have at their clubs.

Around 70% of people who attend both professional and non-league football matches would rather attend a non-league football match. When asked why the standout reason is that of the atmosphere of non-league. “The fans are better”, “there are fewer tourists”; so many describe non-league as football in its purest form, where you feel closer to the club, rather than a corporation style professional club. Where supporters are seen as real people not just a number in the system, where you can really feel the passion of the players.

In my opinion, it is clear to see why non-league football is increasing in popularity; but as with anything that starts to become mainstream, large corporations are starting to cash in on the grass roots form of the country’s most popular sport which some think could ruin everything that makes non-league so special. For the first time ever, starting in the 2016/2017 season, certain non-league football matches were televised. In total, fourteen matches were shown across all three BT Sports channels throughout the season; including the National League Play-Off final, the FA Vase Final and the FA Trophy Final. Some fans of non-league are happy that games are starting to be televised and want large companies like Sky and BT to broadcast more in the coming seasons. However, others, like myself, are sceptical of the growing TV coverage. Many agree that publicity for the lower leagues is a good thing as it helps make people aware of what’s happening in the conference which is important for fans of football teams in League 2, the lowest professional football league, as it makes it easier for them to find out which new teams they will get to watch their team play against in the next season. However, many people would also agree that the football leagues need to be wary of not selling out to companies such as Sky and avoid commercialising the leagues, as this would kill the atmosphere and possibly drive fans away. It is clear to see why people don’t want non-league football to be televised, as they are scared it would just go down the same path as the professional leagues.

So as you can see, several factors have resulted in the rise of non-league football and I personally feel like the popularity of the non-professional game is only set to increase. The only way for Premier League clubs to recapture the fans they have lost to non-league would be to go back to the way things used to be before multi-million pound TV deals; however, the likelihood of this happening is extremely slim. Personally, I feel that the majority of people wouldn’t want to turn back time on the footballing world. Those that approve of the increasing commercialism are happy with the direction that the sport is heading in, and those that have given up on professional football to follow non-league have found themselves a new passion. Whatever the case the future of English football as a whole is looking very bright, particularly for the country’s smaller clubs, which can only be a good thing as everyone loves an underdog don’t they.

ARTICLE ANALYSIS

My article is about the rising popularity of non-league football in England. The article is not biased in any way as I have presented facts clearly and explained both sides to any argument I have mentioned. My article is aimed at people between the ages of 18 and 40 from the C2DE categories of the NRS social scale who have a keen interest in football. 

The purpose of the article is to report to the reader why non-league football is becoming so popular. “  This year alone over £1bn was spent on player transfers in the Premier League ” I used this statistic to show the audience just how much money is involved in professional football in the modern era. “a game for the working class where the players are ‘real people’, not celebrities and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to go and watch them play” here I used an emotive tone to allow the audience to empathise with the people who think that the footballing world is in crisis.

The tone of my article is impartial, reflective and at times nostalgic. It attempts to pick out the positives from the topic when it discusses how the increasing popularity in non-league could be beneficial for the entire English football scene.

I use compound and complex sentences throughout my article, which uses an elaborate code throughout. This is clear to see as I have used a fairly high proportion of features; such as subordinate clauses, adjectives, the pronoun I and passives. “Many fans are choosing to leave behind the commercialist glamour of the professional game for something more real, something closer to what football was meant to be; a game for the working class where the players are ‘real people’, not celebrities and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to go and watch them play.” This complex sentence was used to explain why people are switching from professional football to non-league and I believe that the structure of the sentence helps convey emotion and passion. The use of elaborate code continues throughout the article as complex and compound sentences continue to be used “Champion Hill, home of the hamlets, is located less than 5 miles away from the grounds of large professional clubs like Chelsea, Millwall and Crystal Palace."

In terms of structure, my article opens by explaining to the reader how money is influencing modern professional football. In the introduction, I clearly state the who, what, when, where, why and how; so the reader has a good insight into what the article will be about. My second paragraph focuses on money. I go into detail about the price difference between professional and non-professional football (particularly ticket prices) and how this is influencing a shift in attendances. My third paragraph focuses on atmosphere and attendances. I discuss how the commercialisation of the professional game has led to a dip in attendances for the countries biggest clubs and how a good atmosphere can attract people to a club despite being located close to one of Englands most successful teams. The fourth paragraph in my article portrays people's opinions and includes elements of my primary research. I talk about what form of football people would rather watch and their reasoning behind their decision. My fifth paragraph discusses how non-league football could end up going down the same route as the professional game. I talk about how non-league games are starting to be televised and how this could lead to the same commercialisation that some would say "ruined" the professional game. Finally, my conclusion summarises why non-league football is becoming so popular. I include my own opinion on the subject discuss what professional clubs could do to win back the fans they have lost to non-league.

REGULATIONS

My article will be published on The Football Lab and  Football Paradise (football blogs). It must, therefore, meet the W3 standards as well as the regulations of IPSO. The three most relevant regulations relating to my article are accuracy, privacy and the public interest.

In terms of accuracy, I have taken care not to write any misleading or distorted information in my article. The headline of my article is relevant and supports the rest of my text meaning it is not misleading in any way. All the information in my article has either been taken from reliable secondary sources (such as Outside Write, Pitchero or All Out Football) or has been researched by myself through the use of online survey website Survey Monkey. I have not included images of anyone without their consent in either a public or private place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. I would argue that my article is in the public interest as it protects the public from being misled by the FA and the large companies who are responsible for the commercialisation of modern football. In terms of harassment, I have not engaged in intimidation or persistent pursuit when collecting information for my article. I have not included the views or opinions of anyone under the age of 18 in my article, therefore the children section in IPSO's editors code of practice is not relevant to me. In tems of discrimination, I have avoided prejudicial or pejorative reference to any  individual's, race, colour, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability.