Football is a sport that holds millions of admirers and enthusiasts from across the world. These supporters also celebrate this sport like a festival around the time of the FIFA world cup. Since it is a sport that has a significant fan following, it enables an opportunity for these enthusiasts to share their expertise regarding the subject. This article focuses on the career prospect of being a football analyst.
Who Is A Football Analyst?
A football analyst is a person who indulges the audience with their expertise regarding the sport and provides them with information and insights to enrich their experience as a viewer. This also includes educating the audience with reviews, statistics, and detailed analysis regarding the sport, play style or the athlete involved. They often also use this information to investigate the current situation of the game and predict an outcome but it also varies depending on the specialisation of the analyst.
Job Requirements And Career Prospects
In order to be a football analyst, the person must be an expert regarding the rules and regulations of the game and well-versed in the field of that particular sport. It is also recommended that the person themself be dedicated to the sport physically in order to understand it better and experience the psyche of a football player firsthand. Certain knowledge regarding the sport is often gained through firsthand experience, which can not be easily substituted. Although most information is available online, the on-field experience of a player is unparalleled.
One can also gain practical experience in the field by focusing their work or interning for football or sports-related publications or critiques. This can be achieved through seeking apprenticeships with newspapers, magazines or broadcasting groups that pay special attention towards football as a sport. During this time, one may also focus on building their personal career in the field with the given network and resources through personal blogs, social media accounts or video creation.
If the person wishes to pursue their interests in the field of education, they could take up a sports-related degree or pursue a degree in fields such as broadcast journalism. This may also help the person refine the medium through which they would prefer to explore their career as a football analyst. The work, especially in the current era, is solidified through social media. This makes it important for the person to be well-versed in social media marketing and stay updated with trends in the field of football.
The education in the field of being a sports or football analyst includes focusing on a person’s journalistic skills as well. A sports or football analyst must master the skills regarding journalism, narrative skills, storytelling, consumer reviews, sports culture and current issues of the given sport.
As a beginner in the field, one could apply for jobs at local publications or TV stations after graduation. One can also try their hand at digital publications such as ESPN or other sports-specific websites. Usually, as an inexperienced person, one might have to start as an intern or an assistant.
It is a field that is quite competitive hence the years of experience of the person make a significant difference. Although education in the field helps establish a firm foundation regarding the journalism, communication and marketing of the field, it is the network and connections that often help an individual establish themself as an analyst. Though one may start off working at a lower level, the skills one might acquire along with making acquaintance with the athletes and agents along with hard work might set one apart.
Earning Potential
In the present world scenario, there has been a decrease in participation in the field of sports analysis. According to reports, there is an expected 9% decrease in the broadcast by the year 2026. This has been caused due to increase in online publication and a decrease in the consumption of print media. The average annual wage that a sports analyst earns is about $38,870 per year which is $18.69 per hour in the US as of 2016. A popular analyst or a publication like ESPN, depending on the region may even earn up to 5-10 million dollars.
What The Employers Want
Despite it being a difficult field that has participation and competitions that range from across the world, the individual’s love for the game and how uniquely they utilise their expertise sets them apart. It is easy for one to get discouraged easily to pursue their passion for the sport through this career but the unwavering support of the fans and the audience will always generate demand to seek the opinions of an expert. It depends on how a person utilises all these given resources, networks and knowledge to exploit these demands creatively to help them earn their own spot in the field. The field and the employers expect such kind of skillset from their employees who wish to establish their careers as football analysts.
