Many of you have been asking about the changes to our GFCTV coverage this season, and we are now pleased to be able to fill you in on what we’ve been up to behind the scenes. We have been as keen as our fans to ensure this popular service could continue, and have found a way to make this happen while simultaneously advancing Guernsey FC’s aim of nurturing young local talent both on and off the pitch.
This season we have handed the GFCTV reins over to the next generation, tutored and overseen by experienced media professionals who are on hand to guide our new apprentices. As a club we are keen to offer opportunities for media experience to young people, be they aspiring programme writers, future cameramen or budding commentators.
Director Nic Legg explains, “We are delighted to foster enthusiasm among our young fanbase and offer them opportunities to hone their skills where we can. A perfect example of the opportunity provided in recent years is Sajidur Rahman, who joined the media team with not even a minute of commentary experience and went on to become our regular commentator alongside Harry Jones. We were proud when Saj, also a regular columnist in our match day programme, was named Student Football Writer of the Year 2022.”
Introducing you to our team:
The youngest member here in Guernsey is fourteen-year-old George Fern who has joined the media team focusing on commentating, post-match analysis and interviews.
Continuing to commentate away from home is regular commentator and columnist Harry Jones, who is studying at the University of Winchester.
Harry has just finished his Sports Journalism degree with first class honours and now is studying a Masters in Social Media Management.
Away matches are being filmed by Andre Goncalves, who is currently based off-island at the University of Brighton, where he is studying an MA in Screen and Film Production.
The students are supported by Spike Productions and longstanding experienced commentator and media professional Simon De La Rue. Spike are providing professional equipment for the students to use and hands-on support to help them develop.
Warren Mauger, Managing Director of Spike Productions, explains the rationale behind his involvement: “We really wanted GFC to be able to continue offering video for their supporters and in the current climate it needed to be financially sustainable. We also know it’s hard for students from Guernsey to get meaningful work experience in this industry so came up with a plan to achieve both goals.
“We are really pleased to partner with GFC to enable them to enhance the opportunities they can give whilst also making sure the coverage continues to offer the professionalism the club prides itself on. We have invested thousands of pounds in new equipment which the club can benefit from to ensure the students have suitable equipment to work with and we are able to deliver a quality product.”
GFC Director Nic Legg added, “We are extremely grateful to Warren and Spike Productions for their invaluable contribution to the development of our media team and allowing the product to remain sustainable. As a club we are delighted to offer a range of experiences off the pitch for youngsters, whether they are aspiring to achieve a media career off-island or just have a passion for football and want to be a part of our team.”
We extend our thanks to Olly Tracey who had provided the video service for us in previous years.
We are still on the lookout for people to join the team and also to support us in club media coverage of our newly formed women’s team. If you are interested, please contact nic.legg@guernseyfc.com in the first instance.
Match highlights are available on the club’s social media platforms, which this season includes YouTube. Certain games will be live streamed, when UEFA restrictions allow. Article 48 of the UEFA Statutes, otherwise known as the “black-out rule”, means no live matches are televised/streamed between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on a Saturday.