We are launching our first ever mentorship scheme
The Offside Rule is hugely proud to announce that we’ll soon come to realise a long-held ambition by launching our very own mentorship scheme.
We are encouraging aspiring female journalists to apply for three spots to work with the team at The Offside Rule, have their very own mentor and get work regularly published on our award-winning website.
Thanks to Twitter UK and their commitment to raising awareness around women’s football, we’re able to run the mentorship for six months from the end of September and continue to give female football fans and broadcasters a voice in a male-dominated space.
The writers on the scheme will have the opportunity to continue building their portfolio with articles on this website with the aim of setting them them firmly on the path to securing professional paid work in the future.
Our mentors are all respected award-winning journalists with expert knowledge of the industry and will commit to regular one-on-one sessions with the writers to help them develop story ideas, structure their work and offer support and encouragement.
The mentors will be:
- Paul Hayward – former Chief Sports Writer at The Telegraph, SJA Sports Writer of the Year 1996, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2018
- Sarah Shephard – Staff Writer at The Athletic, Women’s Sports Trust #BeAGameChanger Journalist of the Year 2016
- Matt Lawton – Chief Sports Correspondent at The Times, SJA Sports News Reporter of the Year 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017
Mentees will also benefit from weekly input from The Offside Rule’s experienced editorial team.
Additionally, Twitter UK will be supporting The Offside Rule website to ensure this page, and its team of editors, sub-editors and writers, gets the investment required to keep it going.
“At The Offside Rule, we’ve always been proud to nurture up-and-coming talent with an emphasis on helping female writers”
Kait Borsay, co-founder of The Offside Rule
Borsay added: “I’m thrilled Twitter has enabled us to realise a long-held ambition to formalise a mentoring programme, with support from leading journalists in the industry too.
“It’s been a tough time for many people in sports journalism, particularly those starting out, so I hope we’ll be able to make a real difference.”
Our website has been a regular home for women’s and men’s football content since 2012 and has covered a number of major tournaments including the 2014 World Cup, 2016 Euros, 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cup and the 2017 Women’s Euros.
Senior creative strategist at Twitter Viv Bowder said: “Twitter, news and sports journalism have always had an incredibly symbiotic relationship – whatever happens in the world of sports is happening on Twitter.
“As part of our continued work to enable the women’s footballing community to connect and strive for change, we couldn’t be prouder to play our part in nurturing young female football writers by partnering with The Offside Rule on this mentoring programme.”
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