Passionate about Welsh football? Y Clwb Pêl-droed are desperately seeking new volunteers to help continue its coverage of Welsh domestic football.
Over the last few years, the team of contributors dropped considerably as a result of its contributors gaining gaining opportunities in the sport media industry.
The website has been a platform to grow the coverage of Welsh domestic football and is the only service dedicated to it, though there are some pages and individuals that in their own unique way also help grow the Welsh game.
Volunteering is a big ask and a big commitment, especially for those already in full-time employment but in a different field or those studying at university.
For those who are able to even consider volunteering, contributing to this website has been the perfect platform for those starting out in media or journalism to go on to gain employment in the industry.
A major issue that the website has right now is the lack of editorial staff that can publish articles whilst also thinking of content ideas.
We are looking for those passionate about Welsh football or who are willing to develop an interest in the wonderful world of football in Wales. Here are the roles below… Interested in joining the passionate team at Y Clwb Pêl-Droed after what you’ve seen? Contact Jordan Jones at jordalexjones@gmail.com or the page itself at yclwbpeldroed@gmail.com.
Written Contributors
A majority of our content is written and we pride ourselves on providing regular content with there not being many days in which an article hasn’t been published.
With competitive football now returning, we’re looking for people who are interested in covering clubs the length and breadth of Wales from the Cymru Premier to the fifth tier, as well as the Ardal Leagues and its feeder leagues. Articles usually include a live blog and a match report but post-match interviews, as well as player ratings and what we learned pieces, are also other suggestions.
There are also opportunities to cover Wales U21s, U19s, and Women’s matches, should the page be accepted for accreditation.
Aside from the match-action, our other pieces range from features, interviews, news, and quizzes, and we allow our contributors to voice their opinions on certain matters.
Photographers
As always, our pieces need to have images attached to them. We’re always looking for photographers to come on board and freelance with us. The photographer always owns the rights to their images so your contribution would be gratefully appreciated by us. Several photographers have earned paid work after having their images hosted by us.
Cameramen/ Video Editors
We hope to launch a YouTube channel that will home unique and original content. We’ll be looking to launch a weekly Vodcast discussing matters in the Cymru Leagues with images and videos to accompany it.
We also hope to bring articles to life, following the examples of HITC Sevens, Irish Fan TV, and Tifo Football. All three have run successful channels for several years and now we are looking to provide similar content from a Welsh perspective.
In the meantime, our social media pages showcase highlights from lower league matches, which are shot on mobile phones.
Content and Social Media
YCPD currently has a graphics pack for its various platforms, however, we are open to discussion and willing to change should anyone present new ideas. Should you wish to help run our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms, by thinking of engaging content, then we would be interested in having a discussion.
Data Collators
Interested in the historical side of Welsh football? We’re looking for people to keep our fixtures, league tables, and results up to date.
We’re also looking to source some archive content as aim to become the go-to source for the past and the present.
This includes finding scores from previous leagues from years ago, as well as keeping tabs on the history of managers at clubs and so on.
Alternatively, you can contact our social media pages and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Y Clwb Pěl-droed’s Welsh football success stories
Y Clwb Pêl-Droed has been in existence since 2015 and initially began as a Twitter page before launching into a website. It has been a platform for many in the industry who have since gone on to gain accolades through their contribution or used it as a springboard for full-time employment.
Examples include creator and founder Jordan Jones, who is now a full-time football reporter with National World, covering clubs as Aston Villa, Wolves, West Brom and Birmingham City, as well as Blackpool, and Preston North End.
George Rees-Julian is now a full-time football journalist for the Daily Echo and covers Southampton. He was in Hungary in May 2023, as the only Welsh reporter to cover Wales at the UEFA Under-17 Championships. Early contributor Tom Coleman, began attending games and doing news articles. He has since gone on to work for Media Wales and Sussex Live.
Dafydd Jones joined as a contributor back in 2020 and has gone on to hold a media role at Cardiff City, covering their Women’s team. He has also done freelance work with Rondo Media, and BBC Sport Wales. Meilyr Williams volunteered, and now he’s working full-time at Rondo Media as a Social Media Coordinator.
James Williams did some work with the page back in 2021 and interviewed Wales international Declan John. He got a work placement at Forest Green Rovers and is now the Digital Communications Manager at Cheltenham Town.
Nick Davies, a driving force behind the creation of the YCPD website, has since gone on to work for the Football Association of Wales as Tier Two General Manager, and now their Head of Competitions. Callum Ellis and Ethan Harris also hold roles with the FAW having contributed to the website.
Matthew Lofthouse (RIP) began as a sports photographer in 2017 with Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and worked for SWNS. His photographs from Cardiff Metropolitan’s play-off victory over Bala Town, saw him nominated for a Wales Media Award as the 2020 Photographer of the Year.
Lewis Mitchell and Will Cheshire are long-serving photographers on the website has provided many images of various levels of football, and have worked for the FAW.
Martin Townley, Michael Davies, and Tom Pritchard all hold media officer roles with Cymru Leagues and Adran Leagues clubs respectively. Sion Misra has led the website’s Women’s football coverage, covering the domestic and the national game. He was part of the VAVEL team that picked up Silver in the Best In Women’s Football category at the 2023 Football Content Awards, and also works for Cardiff City.
As well as individual success, the page has also received recognition from some key people in the sports media industry.
In 2019, we were nominated for both the best Vlog/Blog as well as News Website of the Year, competing with BBC Cymru, BBC Wales, and WalesOnline in the Wales Media Awards. Y Clwb Pêl-Droed has also been a nominee three times in the Football Content Awards, in both the Best International Blog and Best Non-League Blog.
