For anyone that’s interested in forging a path within the football industry, it can potentially appear to be a quite daunting and challenging prospect. However, you can definitely overcome that initial wariness and apprehension which then allows you to take those crucial steps into any football industry.

The fundamental thing for everyone who wants to get their foot in the door is to gain experience. This can be gleamed through your local non-league club and it’s an opportunity that should always be taken up. Without that, you won’t gain a full understanding or grasp of what you exactly want to do with your own career and how a club environment works.

In turn, this opens you up to a wide variety of people and allows for the chance to network. It’s a place where you can learn on the job and develop your skill set which goes in tandem alongside any academic qualifications you gain. At the end of the day, it won’t matter what your academic achievements are if you don’t possess any actual experience on your CV.

This is why experience is absolutely essential to the whole process. You have to start at the bottom of the football pyramid and work yourself up the ladder so to speak. It’s about getting your name out there, but doing it in a manner which is authentic and shows that you’re fully invested and committed to whichever club you find yourself at.

My Own Experience In The Football Industry

From my own personal experience, I found my local non-league environment to be a very good place. I started being involved within it at the age of 15 and later became fully engaged with everything from being a 17/18-year-old. It opened my eyes up to another side of football to what I’d been previously used to and also made it much more personal given the tight knit nature of non-league clubs.

It led to me spending six years at one club named Hall Road Rangers from 2017-2023. Throughout that time, I built up a wealth of knowledge and skills from pushing myself into trying out new things and finding out that I actively enjoyed working within a football club environment. Despite everything being done on a voluntary basis, I still felt incredibly passionate and motivated because I treated it like it was a full-time job.

Through having that drive and commitment, it can take you anywhere within the football industry and into a professional club. It’ll obviously take time, so a lot of patience is required. I even admit that I’ve had instances of questioning myself and what I was doing. At that point, I was impatient and wanted things to happen which weren’t possible at that particular time. Eventually, I gained an opportunity to provide written content within Hull City’s match day programmes in August 2022.

The other main key aspect to all of this is using platforms such as LinkedIn. This allows you to connect with professionals in the football industry and ask them about their work and how they got to where they are. It’s a valuable tool which is an essential requisite for any individual interested in working in any football industry. It goes hand in hand with gaining experience and can make you stand out to those who are looking for new voices and perspectives. As well as this, you can learn about opportunities when they arise and then speak to the relevant individuals.

This entire process is definitely not easy or simple. You must prepare yourself for the long haul and any potential setbacks that may arise along the way. If they do, then take all the lessons from them and keep going. By gaining the necessary experience and amassing a great network of contacts, you can definitely break into the football industry.