Untitled

Contents:
Introduction 6
Chapter 1
What is Sports Journalism? 8
Chapter 2
What Type of Sports
Journalist Do You Want to Be? 20
Chapter 3
Entering the World
of Sports Media 26
Chapter 4
Sources in
Sports Journalism 32
Chapter 5
How to Write a Sports Article 36
Chapter 6
Sports as a Specialism 40
Chapter 7
Professional Ethics
in Sports Journalism 44
Chapter 8
Covering Major
Sports Events 46
Sports Journalism Guide
Introduction
In recent decades, sport has developed around the
world, becoming more intertwined with people’s every-
day lives for many reasons. This development is most-
ly attributed to the rise in demand for sports journalism
worldwide. A report conducted by the American Journal-
ism Institute concludes that sport is the most consumed
news topic for 25 percent of people, followed by political
news which is favoured by 21 percent.
Despite this major expansion in the field of sports

journalism, it is often still considered to be sepa-
rate from the professional rules of journalism and
is treated as a form of entertainment journalism
that does not require commitment to profession-
al standards such as those adhered to by jour-
nalists covering politics or the economy.
This issue is just one of many in Arabic sports

journalism, which is way behind worldwide
sports journalism. One issue is that sport itself
is not developed in the Arab world and this limits
the extent to which Arabic sports journalists can
expand their field. Sports news is still often restrict-
ed to just results and news, with little journalistic
analysis or coverage to provide new information and
insights to audiences.
6
It is for this reason that Al Jazeera Media Institute has
devised this guide book, in an attempt to develop the
field of sports journalism. This guide explains and de-
constructs the nature of work for a sports journalist,
and provides advice on covering major sports events
while adhering to the principles of professional jour-
nalism, taking into consideration the rules that regulate
sports journalism, as well as explaining the profession-
al and technical requirements.
Al Jazeera Media Institute
7
Chapter I:
What is Sports
Journalism?
Sports journalism has become a major Sports journalism is not an
field of journalism with the transition of ‘easy life’
sports to a major independent industry.
This media specialism now has a vital The field of sports offers journalists the
role. opportunity for regular involvement in
field work, particularly when covering
Sports journalism is no longer consid- major tournaments, and grants them
ered merely the domain of fun and en- access to those involved in the area
tertainment, it is now a field of its own of sport, whether they are athletes,
that has its own risks and sensitivities coaches or others. Because of this,
which practitioners need to be aware some consider sports journalists to
of. A sports journalist speaks to an au- be privileged, with the impression that
dience that considers sports to be a pri- they have things “easy” compared to
mary element of their lives, and as such those working in other fields of jour-
should be measured in terms of impor- nalism. However, the requirements of
tance alongside those of journalistic sports journalists are such that they
fields covering issues such as health,
politics and social issues.
8
Phil Andrews
major instructor in Journal-

ism department – Sheffield
Hallam University in the UK
“It’s the best job in the world,

isn’t it? Travelling the globe,
watching the big sporting
events free from the best seats
in the stadium, mingling with
need to develop in-depth experience star players and athletes, seeing
which takes time and skill to amass. your byline in the newspapers or
Sports journalists must also acquire broadcasting to millions on ra-
a large background knowledge of the dio or television, and being paid
various categories and types of sports, a lot of money for the privilege.
while also keeping abreast of all the That’s the way many people see
new developments in the field. Jour- a sports writer’s job. The reali-
nalism, generally, is a rapidly evolving ty can be rather different. Hard
industry, especially with the advent and demanding work to tight
of digital platforms. Developments deadlines, long and unsocial
in both sports and journalism itself hours (most of them worked in
means there are now many different the evenings or at weekends), a
areas of specialism within the field of lot of time spent in research and
sports journalism; today there is jour- preparation, acquiring the same
nalism in sports economics, another in depth of knowledge about the
transfer markers, specific websites for sports you cover as the most
market valuation appraisal of athletes, fanatical of your readers or lis-
sports clubs, and many others. teners, earning the trust of a
wide range of contacts among
players, coaches and admin-
istrators, and the skill to write
accurately and entertainingly
at great speed and often under
difficult conditions.”
9
More Than Just a Game - During the 1998 World Cup held in
France, the French police stood pre-
pared for the possibility of riots ahead
Sports journalism requires effort and of a match between the US and Iran
stamina because sports events do not teams. However, the worst happened
stop; the regular flow of tournaments, ahead of that match between fans sup-
world tours, friendly matches and other porting the England and Tunisia teams
events mean sports journalists are con- in Marseille: a
stantly busy. three-day major
riot erupted,
Sports journalists must take extra care triggered by
with accuracy in each news piece they by England
produce as well as being on the con- fans, leaving
stant look out for other angles. A football at least 32
match could mean hundreds of thou- injured.
sands of fans taking to the streets to
celebrate their team’s qualifica-
tion for the World Cup.
Another could re-
sult in
violent protests or even cause
a diplomatic crisis. All this plac-
es major responsibility on sports
journalists.
Examples of such events:
- A match between the Egypt and

Algeria teams almost caused a
diplomatic crisis between both
countries in 2009 and was
dubbed in the media as the
“Battle of Omdurman”. It was a
match to determine the qualifier for
the 2010 World Cup in South Africa
and was followed by many protests and
incidents, a major one of which was an
10 attempt to break into the Algerian em-
bassy in Cairo.
- During the Egyptian local league tour-
nament in February 2012, the match
between Al Ahli and Al Masry football
clubs in the city of Port Said, ended in
chaos when a group of spectators who
were sitting in the seats of Al Masry

fans launched an assault on the Al Ahli
fans. Some 72 Al Ahli fans were killed,
and this event later came to be known
as “the genocide of Port Said”.
11
How Sports Journalism has De-

veloped
There is not only one type of sports

journalism. The work of a journalist
covering football news is not the same
as that of a journalist covering tennis,
athletics, gymnastics or other sports.
This is because each sport places its
own mark on journalism and journalists
with its distinct features. Professional
players in some sports are more en-
thusiastic about media coverage than
others, for example. While football gets
a lot of air-time, golf is “quieter” in the
media. Other types are distinguished
by accuracy more than anything else,
especially those requiring time and dis-
tance measurements such as athletics,
where journalists are required to pro-
vide analysis of measurements, while
other sports require more metaphorical
descriptions. In the end, all sports jour-
nalists must be committed to balance,
objectivity and accuracy of information,
which form the basis of professional
journalism.
12
Social media has also played a big role
in the way that sports news has devel-

oped. Social media has certainly wid-
ened the horizon of sports journalists,
but it has also thrown up new challeng-
es regarding the speed of news and the
changing preferences of online audi-
ences. Audiences no longer need a jour-
nalist to report the results of matches or
who scored goals and points. Instead,
they are looking for sports journalists to
present in-depth analysis and statistics,
or more behind-the-scenes colour such
as the discussions which take place in
locker rooms, explanations of coaches’
plans and other information that cannot
be easily accessed.
13
Sports Journalism and the Phases of Change
Mohamed Amour
Head of News Management at beIN Sports:
Sports journalism is a specialism that requires journal-

ists to keep up with, describe and analyse sports events,
providing commentary and even carrying out investi-
gations of sports’ more shady areas. Journalists must
also have a good understanding and knowledge of how
sports is developing its own independent economy and
how it is gaining more and more public interest.
Sports journalism as a specialism first emerged at the

start of the 19th century in the US. Newspapers covered
boxing and horse racing. Over time, rising popular de-
mand for sports news prompted newspapers to start of-
fering special sections devoted to sports, offering sports
journalists their own platform.
More recently, sports journalism has undergone a trans-

formation again in the era of digital publishing; public
posts on social media are now what shape public opin-
ion and digital news platforms are leading the way when
it comes to news reporting and commentary.
These days, professional athletes are often more trusting

of social media influencers than they are of profession-
al journalists. After his transfer to Paris Saint Germain,
for example, Lionel Messi gave his first interview to the
Spanish social media influencer Ibai Hanos on Twitch,
broadcasting the ceremony direct from his phone to hun-
dreds of thousands of viewers.
The way in which sports has been influenced by ad-

vances in science and technology is also reflected in the
development of sports journalism. Journalists no longer
report just from the stadium - news is broadcast from
inside locker rooms and sports team buses.
14
The growing importance of technical information and
analysis has contributed to the rise of data journalism
within sports media, with the emergence of new organi-
sations such as “Opta” for technology and analysis.
Cosy relationships between sports journalists and their

sources have made it harder, not easier, for corruption
to be uncovered. Therefore, it is not surprising that most
investigations into the world of sports have been carried
out by investigating journalists with no background in
sports journalist at all.
Part of the problem here is the amount of money within

the sports industry. Television is now one of the major
funders of sports through exclusive television broadcast
rights, and advertisers have cooperated with the media
by amplifying the image and status of athletes and clubs
and amplifying the phenomena of stardom to generate
more audience and revenues.
This poses ethical and professional questions about the

independence of some sports journalists, particularly
where media organisations hold exclusive rights leading
to a conflict of interests.
15
10 Top tips:
1- Plan your coverage: un- 5- Don’t get too friendly with

like sudden and unexpected news sources: good relationships are
events, sports events are an- essential to getting scoops, but you
nounced at the start of each sea- could run the risk of being exploited
son, so you can plan coverage well by your sources. Showing favou-
in advance. ritism towards a coach or a player
can affect the worth of a player in
transfer markets. Don’t allow your-
self to be used in this way - always
2- Expect the unexpected: be sceptical about information you
sports journalists should be familiar receive and make sure you verify it.
enough with the intricacies of the
sports they cover to be on the look-
out for the unexpected, such as a
6- Develop your technical
match being postponed or a coach
skills: journalism is constantly
being sacked.
changing, so you need to keep up
with new approaches and technical
skills - such as interactive storytell-
ing, for example.
3- Stick to the field: make sure
you go to all the training sessions
and matches that you can - that is
often where you will find the best 7- Make use of digital plat-
stories. forms: digital platforms such as
news websites and social media
platforms have afforded more op-
portunities for journalists to present
4- Build networks: your informa- news in different ways - often going
tion is only as good as your sources. well beyond what is possible in tra-
Therefore, a sports journalist must ditional news media. Ensure you are
form a network of contacts includ- familiar with the different formats for
ing managers, coaches, athletes telling stories which are required for
and others involved in professional these platforms.
sports.
16
8- Understand algorithms: If 10- News is not enough: sports
you want your sports story to reach journalism is no longer limited to
the most possible viewers or read- covering the results of the matches

ers, you need to understand how or real-time news. Many specialised
the algorithms of different plat- websites have emerged and built
forms work. Stories are presented up large audiences in a short time
in different templates supported by because they are able to provide in-
different platforms – such as short depth analysis in different formats,
videos – and must be appropriately including investigative journalism,
designed for the content privacy for real-time journalism, explanatory
each platform. Content supported journalism and historical journal-
by Instagram is different from con- ism. The experience of The Athletic
tent supported by Twitter or You- website in this type of sports story is
Tube, and it must consider the con- worth mentioning. The website was
tent preferences for each audience launched in 2012 and, in 2022, had
on these platforms. become so popular that the New
York Times acquired ownership of it.
9- Present your own identity:

strive to present an individual type
of journalism that incorporates in-
depth details about the sports event
or news you are covering. Ensure
you have a distinctive style which
will become familiar to your audi-
ence. So much sports journalism
is the same and highly formulaic in
style. You need to stand out.
17
Vincent Deleck
Novelist and sports journalist, special-
ising in football
It is the role of the press to tell the story, Of course the French media is invested
to analyse. It is not the role of the press in the idea of the French team winning
to take sides. at the World Cup but there is no ques-
tion that should mean turning its back
I don’t see why mainstream journal- on the basis of journalism - news, infor-
ism should be expected to be honest mation, commentary.
and objective while sports journalism
should not. Instead that it should be na- Sports journalism is much closer to
tionalistic and biased without criticism. the heart of matters than people may
imagine.
18
There is nothing harder than reporting
on football transfers. The information
changes from minute to minute. If you
want the media to refrain from report-
ing a player’s transfer from one club
to another until it is completely official,
that will mean leaving the reporting to
social media. If you have to wait until
something is official before you report
it, there will be no more news.”
19
Chapter 2:
What Type of Sports
Journalist Do You Want
to Be?
1- Choose your media: This might be newspaper, television, digital, radio or

podcast journalism.
(Over the years, there have

been many instances of
providing sports content
in an interactive way, such
as analysis videos on
YouTube, as well as Pod-
casts. However, most
of these have been
limited to individ-
ual productions,
made by those in-
terested in sports,
who are not nec-
essarily profes-
sional journalists).
20
2- Choose your specialism: wheth- 3- Decide where you want to work:
er it is being a field correspondent, find out about the editorial policies
or an expert in transfer markets or and work flow of the organisations
match analysis, or something else you would like to work for or collab-
entirely. orate with.
(The Analyst UK website went even fur- (Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, 29,
ther. It hired a correspondent to cover is one of the most well-known and
each team of the English League for trusted journalists writing about football
football, including some second-divi- transfers. He collaborates with many
sion clubs. This helped with building media organisations and has more than
fan bases for those correspondents. 11 million followers on Twitter. So well
For example, James Pierce covers trusted is he by football fans, that sev-
Liverpool for the website and now has eral major football teams have collabo-
more than 900 thousand followers on rated with him in announcing transfers.)
Twitter).
21
Getting started in
sports journalism
1. Have passion: Get to know every

detail about the sport you want to cov-
er - its rules, its stars’ names - and build
up a wide background knowledge. With-
out passion, you will find it hard to start a
career as an expert journalist in a specific
sport and continue with it.
2. Start with your local team: Attend

the training sessions and matches of your
local team or any club that will welcome
you in for a close-up on your favourite
sport. This will enable you to build your
knowledge on your chosen sport, and the
path players and teams take from training
to matches in the stadium.
22
3. Keep a keen eye on the news: To
further your knowledge, keep up with all
the news related to your favourite sport.
Take note of the various styles of writing,
analysis and commentary.
4. Archive anything that catches

your eye: Whenever you find a distinc-
tive headline, a strong article, an interest-
ing angle or description, or an interesting
link to information you lack, document it.
5. Write, write, write: Work on your

writing and editorial skills. Writing is the
only way to develop your journalism skills,
whichever format you want to work in - a
written script is the basis of any broadcast
content. This will also help you find your
own style and develop your individuality.
23
Hossam Barakat
Jordanian journalist and academic,
former editor-in-chief of Yoursport and
Kooora websites
“There are now endless challenges My advice here is: don’t wait for an op-
to sports editors and correspondents portunity that may or may not come. Be-
in the Arab world, especially when it gin with self-learning, and take courses
comes to competing with the domi- specialised in editing, sports commen-
nance of social media and user-gener- tary and study the rules of sports play.
ated content.
The content produced by sports jour-

nalists, written with linguistic care, reli-
able and objective, no longer gains the
attention and interest it once did. Often
this is because of the time it takes to
produce professional content, com-
pared to the instant, unprofessional
postings and musings on social me-
dia platforms. It seems that audiences
have given up any care for accuracy or
reliability of sources when it comes to
gathering information.
If they stand any chance of compet-

ing with the plethora of sports “infor-
mation” posted on social media sites,
sports journalists must seek out new
journalism tools, broaden their sources
and produce faster, simpler content.
Getting into a career in sports journal-
ism is fraught with difficulty, consider-
ing that the work market is in recession,
as reflected by the developments of the
state of the economy and the shrinking
advertising market.
24
It is up to those who wish to become
professional sports journalists to seek
out opportunities for field training and
volunteer work, to sharpen their writing
skills and develop their professional-
ism, and to produce content in a pro-
fessional manner.
To the journalists covering the World

Cup, I advise that you attend each and
every press conference and media
gathering, no matter how far away.
In addition, you should also look
for hidden angles and untold
stories.Try analysing events
in a non-traditional manner,
to document every image,
to ‘sleep less but walk
more’.”
25
Chapter 3:
Entering the World of
Sports Journalism
Most sports journalists enter the field

in one of two ways: either by studying
journalism at university or college
and majoring in sports or by in-
dependently beginning their
journalism careers with-
out an academic back-
ground in journalism.
Those who have suc-
cessfully gone down
the latter route have
usually either built up
sufficient work expe-
rience to qualify them
for positions at media
organisations, or they
have entered those or-
ganisations through
training programmes
and then gradually ris-
en through the ranks
to become professional
journalists.
26
Those who reach the ranks of successful
sports journalists do so through strenu-
ous hard work and by building up a very
wide background knowledge of sports.
This includes a detailed knowledge of
most of the sciences related to sports,
as well as sports law, sports medicine,
humanitarian sciences, sports econom-
ics and business, and others.
Successful sports journalists must first

be professional journalists before they
become specialists in sports or related
fields. They are required to understand
all types and patterns of journalism and
commit to the professional rules and
ethics of the profession, mainly objec-
tivity, integrity and reliability.
27
7 things to master:
1- Develop your language skills: 6- Gather resources: This is best

This can be achieved through constant achieved by building a network of ac-
reading and practising narration tools. tive parties in the sports field. Attend
training and competition fields, build
2- Practise different styles: Follow professional relationships with athletes
the work of other journalists - not only and coaches, and engage with sports
in the field of sports - and understand fans and sports journalism communi-
their writing styles. Adapt them to your ties.
own journalistic pieces. To develop
your narrative skills, read both fiction 7- Be critical of your own work: A
and non-fiction and adapt these styles professional journalist constantly asks
in your sports stories. questions of themselves. After you fin-
ish a story, try to evaluate it objectively.
3- Understand the social issues: Look for the weak points to avoid in the
A professional sports journalist should future as well as the positive elements
have a broad background knowledge to build on.
of the historical and sociological di-
mensions linked to each sport as well
as its interaction with society, and
much more.
4- Develop your critical thinking:

Dig through the details of sports
events, read up on a sport’s his-
tory and understand its tiniest
details. This will help you ask
unique questions which will
distinguish you from other jour-
nalists.
5- Diversify your content: Try out

different forms of journalism. Diver-
sifying through scripts, videos and
podcasts and others will help you
determine the most accommodating
type and which is most likely to reach
your particular audience.
28
Wojciech Novakowski
Polish independent sports journalist
“My advice to young journalists is to In some cases, I also allow notifica-

seize every opportunity to gather as tions from Twitter accounts that post

many sources as possible and create the most important information for me,
connections with new people - you for example Łączy nas piłka kobieca,
never know who might be of use to you which is the official account for the Pol-
in the future. ish Women’s Football League.”
It is impossible to absorb all the infor-

mation that is out there; that is why I
focus on the subjects closest to my
professional interests. If something
important is happening in the world, it
will surely affect me as well. Regarding
sources, I mostly use Twitter, where I
look for accounts worthy of following
in different lists, as well as RSS feeds
of websites worth fol-
lowing as well. I try
to update my list
of websites as much
as possible and allow
push notifications
and pop-ups.
29
Want great stories? Tips for working alongside

photographers
Stick with the
photographers
1- Stay in direct communication:
This will ensure you work quickly and
efficiently and get the news as it hap-
Accompanying sports photographers pens. Use messaging apps such as
is one of the easiest and most efficient WhatsApp, Messenger or others.
ways to come up with new story ideas.
2- Stay alert: The presence of pho-
Because of the nature of their work, tographers on the front line of action
sports photographers get close to the means they get the details you won’t
action and have the ability to capture catch on the sidelines. For example, a
details that an editorial journalist may photographer may hear what an athlete
not be able to spot. says when storming out angrily after the
coach’s decision to replace them, in ad-
Sports photographers are also close dition to many other important details.
enough to catch the sounds coming
from the cameramen, thus they can 3- Get story ideas from images:
provide you with many stories. Scrutinising photos can reveal im-
portant details unnoticed by other re-
porters. When the semi-final between
Cameroon and Egypt took place at
the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon
went to penalties, a photograph taken
revealed the water bottle of Egypt’s
goalkeeper Mohammed Abo Gabal
plastered with white stickers. When the
journalists scrutinised the photos, they
found that the stickers displayed details
about each Cameroonian player’s like-
ly shooting tactics. It made for a great
story.
4- Prepare a list of specific foot-

age demands: Ask the photographer
to head to specific places, or to take a
picture from a certain angle to serve the
narrative of your planned story.
30
5- Find new sources: Pierre Grigoriev
Having a photographer on Bulgarian sports journalist
the field, close to the ath- and producer
letes and managers means
they have the ability to di-
rectly communicate with “If I could give one piece of advice to young
journalists, it would be this: try to pursue your

them. This may enable you
passions and interests from a different per-
to hold exclusive interviews
spective. Try as much as you can to look for
outside the stadium and people you have never met or talked to, in or-
secure a network of con- der to find the stories that have never been
nections that serves you in told before. Don’t always just go for general
any future stories. topics or follow what others do because they
seem popular.I strongly believe that add-
ed-value journalism work, based on the in-
terests of journalists themselves, is always of
higher quality. This is because journalists that
work like this try to find people, stories, events
and places that other photographers and jour-
nalists haven’t yet reached.
When it comes to handling sources, best

practice depends on the type of press cover-
age you are producing. Sources for a breaking
news story will be different to those you need
for a report or field investigation.One valuable
piece of advice given to me by an experienced
American journalist was this: remind yourself
that you know nothing, that you have no prior
“truth” on the topic or story you are working
on. This will stop you from being biased and
will help you keep the required objectivity for
professional journalism. I always try to dis-
cuss subjects further and more widely with
all sources I contact, and I find that leads to
better results.
I also try to record all information from my

sources in several ways, such as on a note-
pad or on a computer, so that I can be sure I
have documented and archived my sources
and won’t forget the relevant details. Relying
on memory alone can often lead to mistakes.
Finally, the most important thing - it might

seem obvious but it is the most important
piece of advice - is always make sure you ver-
ify information through more than one source,
and do not rely on only one source no matter
how much you trust their information.”
31
Chapter 4:
Sources in Sports
Journalism
Sources are as important for sports Get to know the people managing and
journalists as they are in any other field working at Olympic or sports feder-
of journalism. ations, even those involved in parlia-
mentary affairs or local councils. Other
Sources can range from athletes, places to get involved are fan clubs,
coaches and agents to anyone else ac- associations, veteran associations, ref-
tive in the sports industry such as law- erees’ associations, among others. All
yers and analysts. These are all sourc- these are sources that help you hear
es from whom sports journalists can news first or find out information that
source ideas for stories, background could potentially be the basis for a
information and even gossip. news piece.
32
To build strong connections with sourc- Building a network of sources
es, meet them face to face. The first
step is to attend training sessions and
matches at sports clubs. Here, you will 1- Attend training sessions and
meet officials, athletes, other corre- matches at the sports clubs you cover
spondents and VIP figures - often many to meet and follow up with your con-

times over and in a relaxed atmosphere, tacts in the stadiums.
since more formal occasions necessi-
tate protocols that do not always allow 2- Find out where teams will be
for a smooth interview. By taking this based during major tournaments.
approach, you will form useful connec- For example, Qatar University is host-
tions. ing the Argentina team during the 2022
World Cup in Qatar. Being present there
Don’t forget social media, especially will provide you with multiple sources
the official pages of sports leagues and as well as opportunities for interviews
associations, Olympic associations, and news stories.
athletes and others. These can often
provide information that will form the 3- Respect the privacy of your
basis of good stories. sources. Don’t publish information
they don’t want you to publish unless
you want to run the risk of losing them
as a source.
33
4- Being professional and abiding 6- Keep up with other media out-

by the ethics of journalism will earn lets - especially your main rivals.
you trust from your sources. If they be- This is very important to ensure you are
lieve you are reliable and trustworthy, following all lines of inquiry.
they will give you exclusive information
when the time comes. 7- Make use of raw information
from open sources. There are net-
5- Make use of general sources. works specialising in data journalism
These include agencies, players’ web- relating to different sports, which will
sites, clubs and associations, as well as provide you with a large number of ma-
official accounts on social media, and jor numbers and statistics.
other agency pages and fans’ associ-
ations,
34
Major websites specialising in Other sports:
sports statistics and informa-
tion: Tennis:
ultimatetennisstatistics.com
tennisstats247.com
Football: coretennis.net
Soccerstats.com : publishes num-

bers and statistics which are constant- Basketball:
ly updated, on most football matches hoopshype.com
around the world, as well as in-depth proballers.com
statistics relating to most angles of con-
cern for any expert sports journalist. Athletics:
worldathletics.org/stats-zone
Whoscored.com : publishes in-depth
statistics about players’ performance
including evaluations of performances Other sports :
after each match.
statsperform.com : covers more than
understat.com : publishes in-depth half a million matches annually of dif-
statistics on matches in the major five ferent sports, analysing numbers and
leagues (English League, Spanish, Ita- statistics.
lia, German, French) which will help
journalists write their analysis reports of gracenote.com : provides statistics of
matches. different types of sports.
fbref.com : is for those interested in sports-reference.com : this website

the accomplishments of footballers, presents a free database of various
in numbers. For example, how many sports, in addition to following players’
goals has Lionel Messi scored through- performance in many different sports.
out his career? Who scored the highest
number of goals in the 2010-2011 sea-
son, Messi or Ronaldo?
transfermarkt.co.uk : specialises in
following player transfers between foot-
ball clubs around the world.It covers
most of the world’s league champion-
ships, including Arab leagues.
35
Chapter 5:
How to Write a Sports
Article
Producing a great sports article re- He began his piece, therefore, by noting
quires sharp observation, sensitivity that El Guerrouj’s cheeks were no lon-
and excellent narrative skills. ger as hollow as they had once been.
This suggested he had stopped train-
One French journalist who was pas- ing, or training extensively, and that he
sionate about athletics closely studied had put on weight. Thus he was able
the career of the Moroccan World and to write a piece saying that El Guerrouj
Olympic champion middle-distance would soon be retiring from running.
runner, Hicham El Guerrouj, in the run
up to his retirement in 2006. The jour- The journalist used sharp observation
nalist knew one year in advance that the skills to tell this story, based on his own
champion was coming up to retirement knowledge of the athletics field.
and would not be back on the running
track, but he needed to write the story
in a creative way, without giving away
that he received the information from
someone close to El Guerrouj, or per-
haps even from El Guerrouj himself.
36
You also need a great headline. On
November 26, 2020, The Sun, a Brit-
ish newspaper, chose an interesting
headline to report the death of
football legend Diego Mara-
dona - “Under Hand of God”.
This was a clear reference to
the moment when Maradona
scored the famous goal against
English goalkeeper Peter
Shelton during the semi-fi-
nals of the FIFA World Cup
Mexico in 1986. When
Maradona was asked
if he scored with his
hand, he answered: “It
was the hand of
God.”
37
Practical steps to writing a good

sports story
1- Build a wide background knowledge. 5- Be innovative with your headline. In-

An in-depth knowledge of any sporting stead try something more original. After
event or issue will enable you to come the US and England teams tied in the
up with new approaches and angles for FIFA World Cup 2010, The New York
your story. Post’s first page headline was “USA
Wins 1-1, Greatest tie against the Brit-
2- Use critical thinking. This will help ish since Bunker Hill” (in reference to
you to process and come up with dif- the battle during the American revolu-
ferent angles, particularly ones that will tion against the British in 1775).
really resonate with your audience.
6- Avoid tired cliches. Don’t just trot out
3- Record all details. When working in old phrases that readers are bored of.
the field, introduce yourself to as many Try to create new phrases to describe
people as possible, follow the fans, lis- the event which capture its atmosphere.
ten to their chants, ask them about their
journey to the match and their person- 7- A good story is one that focuses on
al experiences (do not just ask them critical details, not general information.
about what they think the results of the
match will be).
4- Choose a good peg. Your introduc-

tion must grab the attention of the read-
er and make them want to read more,
while preserving the inherent news val-
ue of the story itself.
38
From the book “Sports Journal-
ism” by Phil Andrews

“The secret of writing a good news sto- This is because the news story’s struc-
ry is knowing how to condense the es- ture is, in many ways, the opposite of
sence of the story into the intro - into a how they have always been taught to
single sentence or short paragraph. Ad- write. A school or university essay of-
ditional information can then be added, ten begins with a statement of what it
in order of importance. The essence of intends to achieve, goes on to provide
a good news story is that, at whatever a series of facts in support of an argu-
point the reader chooses to abandon it, ment, and ends by drawing a conclu-
what he or she has read will make com- sion from them. The news story, on the
plete sense. other hand, begins with the 64 Sports
journalism: a practical guide conclu-
There are two reasons why news sto- sion - with a statement of the essential
ries are written this way. The first is things the reader needs to know. It then
that it allows readers to take as much goes on to provide additional informa-
or as little as they wish from the story tion to justify and explain what we have
before they move on to the next one. already been told in the opening para-
The second is more practical: if space graph.”
is tight, a sub-editor can cut the story
at any point, from the bottom up, with-
out having to rewrite it, knowing that it
will be understood by the reader. For
this reason, news reporters must learn
to swallow their pride. Those who write
sports news stories should expect to
have their copy cut by sub-editors, and
they should always be written so that
they can be cut easily. At first, many
students find it difficult to write a simple
news story.
39
Chapter 6:
Sports as
a Specialism
Sports journalists need an encyclopae-

dic knowledge of the sport they cover
both in terms of keeping up with devel-
opments and understanding the finer
details about whichever sport they spe-
cialise in.
Having a specialism within sports -

whether it is a particular sports team or
a geographical area of interest, for ex-
ample - will give you an identity within
the field of sports journalism which will
appeal greatly to your audience.
While building a specialist knowledge

of your particular area of sports, you
should also develop a good knowledge
and understanding of sports generally.
You could easily find yourself out in the
field and suddenly required to file a sto-
ry on a sport you do not regularly cover
to your news desk, for instance. You
need to be ready for such eventualities.
Understanding sports in all their types
is important for sports journalists. Al-
though it may seem that every sport
has its particular features that distin-
guish them from the rest, in reality each
type complements the others.
40
The benefits of having
a specialism
1- Building a reputation: A jour-

nalist specialising in an area of sports
that may be popular but not covered
enough, such as athletics, or in a tech-
nical field such as data sports journal-
ism, has the opportunity to produce
excellence for the audience. Such jour-
nalists can build a huge following and
become a main point of reference for
their audience and other journalists.
2- Being a trusted source: A spe-

cialist journalist can become a reliable
source of news. The Italian journal-
ist, Fabrizio Romano, who specialises
in transfer markets news in football,
formed a huge network of athletes’
agents and club managers. He has be-
come such a well-known source of reli-
able transfer news that some clubs now
work in coordination with him when
making transfer announcements.
41
3- Building knowledge: A specialised 5- More career opportunities: A

journalist will build an encyclopaedic specialist journalist will find themselves
knowledge of his or her subject and be qualified for many job opportunities
able to verify numbers, information and after building a long career in a sports
other data about any issue or event re- specialism. This experience may qual-
lating to their specialist field. ify them to become sports analysts or
university lecturers, for example. Sports
4- Writing a book: After a career as clubs management may also become a
a specialist journalist, you may well be possible avenue, or even working close
qualified to write a specialised book to players in supervisory roles. All of
drawing on your personal experience these opportunities will be due to the
in the field, which could become an wide experience you have gained as a
important point of reference for others specialist journalist.
entering the field.
42
Silvana Marcheur
Austrian sports journalist – Kurier
newspaper
“First of all, work out what you are most I upload all the information from my re-

passionate about. Personally, I love search to a document on my computer,
MMA (mixed martial arts), and in the frequently saving it in Google Drive, so
future, I would like to help athletes in I can always access it from my phone
Austria to improve and to take it more or my work computer or other laptops.
seriously. It also has two-factor authentication
available. When I have all my informa-
Second, I always look deeply into tion for a story, I create a copy of this
things, because I want to have all the document, rearrange everything and
information on the subject I am writing divide it up into sections - such as who
about. I watch videos, google every- said what, what information is more im-
thing, talk to people, conduct inter- portant than the rest, etc.
views, read books, listen to podcasts
and anything else I can think of. Always After that I begin thinking about the
verify information you are going to use. most important pieces of information
I have found, and categorise them by
importance. Then I start putting all that
into a third document, and by then I can
start formulating a story.”
43
Chapter 7:
Professional Ethics
in Sports Journalism
Just like any other journalist, a sports Important guidelines:

journalist is required to abide by a num-
ber of professional, ethical, legal and 1- Sports journalists should have a
humanitarian rules. Even where stories detailed knowledge of the media laws
are emotive, a sports journalist must regulating their profession.
work with honesty, integrity and bal-
ance. All sports news and information 2- Showing favouritism towards your
must be reported with impartiality and favourite team or player in a news arti-
balance to allow the audience to form cle conflicts with your professional ob-
an objective opinion. jectivity.
A lack of balance and impartiality in 3- Sports journalists must describe

news reporting can lead to mistakes, facts and events as they are. Nev-
defamation, discrimination or racism, er publish false information which is in
and will serve only to confuse the audi- line with the audience’s wishes. This is
ence about the facts. “confirmation bias”.
4- Journalists should maintain a

completely professional relation-
ship with their sources. Never accept
any gifts or special invitations which
could be seen to influence your cover-
age.
5- A journalist’s meetings with

sources should be arranged and car-
ried out according to professional and
ethical rules, and should in no way af-
fect the objectivity of the journalist.
44
6- Protection of sources and re- In general:
specting their privacy is crucially im-
portant. A sports journalist should maintain a
professional distance from sports ac-
7- Do not write something that can- tors of all kinds. This will allow you to
not be proven to be correct - for ex- write with objectivity and impartiality,
ample, accusing a player of cheating and to build the respect of your audi-
to lose a game in order to manipulate ence, whether they agree or disagree
results, in the absence of any tangible with what you report.
or convincing evidence.
This can be a hard balance to maintain
8- When covering sports events for sports journalists who often have
between opposing teams, journalists very close working relationships with
should not rely on information from the players they report about. Journal-
sources within only one of those teams. ists often spend long periods of time
with players, particularly when covering
9- Never blur the lines between tournaments or tours. It is easy to fall
journalism and public relations. into the trap of over-empathising with
You are not there to act as an official players or teams. Work to avoid this.
spokesperson for a player, team or an
agent to the players.
10- Avoid using over-emotive

phrases that could spark disputes
among members of your audience.
45
Chapter 8:
Covering
Major Sports
Events
This chapter will focus on practical ad-

vice for journalists covering the FIFA
World Cup. However, these principles
can be applied to coverage of all major
competitions and events, particularly
those which occur over a relatively a
short period of time, such as the Olym-
pic games, Nation Cups (UEFA Euro-
pean Championship, Copa America,
and others), world athletics games, and
many other tournaments.
46
1: Plan Ahead 2: Patterns of Coverage
You should be in constant contact with During major sports tournaments

all the relevant federations related to such as the World Cup or the Olympic
the sport you cover, whether they are Games, don’t limit your coverage to
local or international, such as the Inter- what is happening in the stadiums and
national Federation of Football Asso- training sessions.
ciation (FIFA), the International Olym-
pic Committee (IOC) or others. These You will find many newsworthy stories
federations are responsible for issuing among the fans as well, so keep your
accreditation for journalists who wish connection with them through social
to cover tournaments and other events. media. Listening to what your audience
Accreditation grants journalists the right is talking about will alert you to issues
to enter the stadiums, attend training you may miss on the field. You might
sessions of the various teams as well hear a good story about a team by lis-
as attend the press conferences before tening to people taking on the bus or
and after matches. It also ensures you inside the media centre, or even from
get to stay in residential areas assigned a conversation with a taxi driver. Pay-
to journalists, and much more. ing attention to these stories will spice
up your daily coverage of tournament
All journalists are advised to join the In- news and match results.
ternational Sports Press Federation.
47
How do you cover breaking Getting scoops

news on the field?
Use your skills of observation and in-

1- Be prepared and anticipate. You depth knowledge of your subject area
should have plans in place, such as to get news before anyone else.
knowing the routes to the stadiums
and training pitches, being on contact 1- Familiarity with the players
lists for press conferences and knowing is very helpful. Stay in touch with
their locations in advance. them through their official accounts
on social media or make direct con-
2- Have all permits for entrance to tact with them on a face-to-face basis
stadiums and other areas in ad- to build relationships.
vance. If you are going to be in another
country when news might break, re- 2- Keep your eye out for stories
search transport options for that loca- during training sessions as well as at
tion in advance. matches. An image of the Moroccan
player Faisal Fajr looking at his phone
3- Make yourself known in advance while training on the pitch, for exam-
to officials and organisers who can give ple, created newsworthy controversy.
you important information in the early
stages of a breaking news event. 3- Think about socio-political angles
for stories There may be a strong link
4- Make sure you have all the nec- between a sports event and politics and
essary technical equipment, such economics,
as phone charger, laptop, photogra- architecture,
phy equipment, and internet or satellite cultural is-
access. This will enable you to broad- sues or even
cast or file your news story as quickly environmental
as possible if there is a breaking news controversies.
event.
4- Athletes are often
5- Listen to your instincts. Look for restricted to specific loca-
the story everywhere and do not only tions during major tournaments. This
cover the obvious angles that everyone can make it easier for you to get exclu-
else will broadcast or publish. sive interviews or important information
from players. Stick close to the sports
6- It is more important to be accu- teams and take advantage of your
rate than to be first with the news. proximity.
Always verify all information before
publishing or broadcasting. Develop a
verification strategy and practise it well
48 before you may need it.
5- Writing about, for example, the 3- Monitor rival press organisa-
texture of the shirts, how often players tions and journalists - their stories
are drinking water and the tactics of may give you ideas for others or point
training are important as well. They you towards new angles.
give another dimension the audi-
ence needs for a complete pic- 4- Stadiums buzz with newswor-

ture. thy incidents an events - not only
relating to the athletes, coaches and
referees, but also to other involved
in the event, including the photogra-
Focus points for story phers, attendees, VIP guests and oth-
ideas: ers.
5- Keep an eye on social media

When covering tournaments, the indi- that you have identified as important
vidual matches only last for a couple of in advance of the event. You may catch
hours. You should take advantage of issues and incidents that you have not
the rest of the time to look for stories seen on the pitch.
around the matches.
6- Look around the stadiums you
1- Check out the stadium itself. Is are visiting during half time and
it an interesting work of architecture? other breaks in the tournament. You
Does it have a newsworthy history re- might not get another chance to visit
lating to the history of the location? this particular stadium and this is your
These as- opportunity to spot interesting figures
pects may attending matches or to notice other
deserve at- details.
tention.
7- Everything about the hosting
country of the tournament is up
for writing about; architecture, people’s
habits, what the foreign fans are like,
the weather, the colours and sounds -
all these can form wonderful news ma-
terial.
2- The fans make the events, so pay

attention to them. You can often find
rich stories by listening to what they are
talking about.
49
8- Who else is staying at your ho-

tel? At the World Cup 2018 in Russia,
one group of journalists found them-
selves staying at a hotel with an Irani-
an who resembled Lionel Messi. This
became the basis of a funny news
story.
9- Watch and listen to the local

news channels. You may learn about
issues you knew nothing about.
10- Try as much as you can to at-

tend and record fringe events which
are not necessarily in your diary. They
may throw up new story ideas.
50
3: Lessons from World Cup
Journalists
It is always worth watching and learn-

ing from the pros. Here we hear from
three who have covered World Cup
championships.
51
Mohammed Al Rawli
Moroccan journalist at Bayan Al
Yaoume newspaper, who covered
World Cup championships in 1994,
1998, 2006 and 2018
“Coverage of the World Cup is not easy pack’). This will widen your horizons
or ordinary. A journalist must prepare and ensure you have quick access to
just like the players who prepare to par- important information needed for your
ticipate. coverage.
- The first thing a sports journalist - Constant attendance inside the media
should do is prepare reports ahead, and office will help with your work. Take suf-
collect enough information on the event ficient time ahead of the game to pre-
or teams, including numbers and sta- pare for your coverage properly.
tistics. If, for example, the tournament
includes your local team, then conduct - Begin preparing your coverage ahead
special interviews ahead of arriving in of the game and during it, right up to
the country hosting the World Cup. Pre- the end when the results are updated to
paring in this way will ease the job of make sure you send your piece on time.
the journalist once the matches kick off. Consider time differences between
your country and the hosting country of
- Before travelling, find out information the event.”
about the weather in the host coun-
try, its rules and regulations, and the
workings of its transport system. Take
appropriate clothing to avoid difficul-
ties later on. This will ensure you don’t
waste time when you should be dealing
with more important things. Also, make
sure you are staying in a location with
easy access to and from the media of-
fice and stadiums.
- You must be able to communicate in

the local language if you want to avoid
problems. A successful journalist is flu-
ent in living languages, especially and
foremost, in English.
- Connect with the other journalists par-

52 ticipating in the tournament (the ‘press
CamilaMatuso
Brazilian Journalist at www.folha.
uol.com.br, who covered the World
Cup in 2014 and 2018

“There are two ways to prepare for the I learned a lot by watching the work of
World Cup. In my case, for example, other journalists who had previously
when I found out I was going to be in covered World Cup matches. One thing
Russia to cover the Brazilian team, the I learned was that during these types
first thing I did was to start research on of coverage, there will be moments of
the team, coaches and where match- calm, but it is always important to be
es and training would be held. Being prepared for the moments of crisis.
well-informed is the first step to know-
ing the news. The second thing is to The biggest challenge is the ability
map out the people involved with the to tell stories different from the other
team. I looked them up before the trip journalists. Most of the journalists are
because they are the ones I would be reporting match results and what hap-
looking to speak to when preparing any pens during training. This is the reason
reports. For example, if Neymar was in- why preparation is important because
jured and you had never spoken to the you will make a difference if you are well
team’s doctor before, it is not likely he aware and have already formed your
would take your call, and highly unlike- network of sources.”
ly he would give you any information
about the player.
For the World Cup in 2014, I spent

50 days in the city of Belo Horizonte,
where I covered games in Mineirão sta-
dium and training sessions of the teams
playing there, such as Argentina, Chile
and Uruguay. I was also in charge of
preparing reports on the political as-
pects of the Brazilian Football Federa-
tion CBF - Confederação Brasileira de
Futebol, which we call the Cartolas (top
hats-leaders) coverage.
53
Mouldi Jamii :
Tunisian journalist at Al Kass Sports,
who covered the World Cup in 2018
“I was lucky to cover the World Cup in I fondly remember beautiful and immers-
Russia in 2018, both versions of Club ing stories from the World Cup in Brazil
World Cup 2019 and 2020 in Doha, and that were not told from the stadiums, but
the Arab Cup of 2021 where I joined the from the poorer neighbourhoods that fol-
FIFA films team as a producer and jour- low football, made thousands of miles
nalist. away from the event. For example, we
may forget the results of the matches
One major problem I have encountered in during the Brazil World Cup, but we can-
my work is when I don’t get enough time not ever forget the great photo taken by
to do my whole job. A fellow journalist the photographer of a French news agen-
who I met covering World Cup matches cy of one of the favelas, which featured
told me that he had been required to go the fireworks for the opening of the World
on air 11 times since that morning and Cup 2014, and the symbolism it car-
had no time to meet or interview any play- ried, combining the poor reality with rich
ers or guests. dreams.
Also, it can be difficult to report on tour- Most diehard football fans remember
naments if you don’t have permission to the story of Paul the Octopus - who was
access all the areas you need to - includ- apparently able to predict match results
ing, for example, going inside the hotels - right? The octopus was located in an
where the teams are staying. The channel underwater zoo in New Zealand, some
would ask the journalist I met to report 7,456 miles from the events of the World
from in front of the hotel where the teams Cup.”
were staying, rather than from inside it.
So, he would stand outside or by the sta-
dium going live and all he could do was
repeat the same line over and over - noth-
ing new.
Another issue in recent years - is that

media institutions have stopped sending
reporters to cover major sports events if
they don’t have the rights to broadcast
the matches. But I firmly believe news
organisations should always send report-
ers regardless of whether they have the
rights.
54
Sports
Journalism
Guide
By
Younes El Kharrachi
Edited by:
Mohamed Ahdad
Muhammad Alkhamaiseh
English Editor:
Nina Montagu-Smith
Designed by:
Ahmad Fattah
Translated by:
Yasmeen Ahmed Aboujabal

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Contents:

Despite this major expansion in the field of sports

This issue is just one of many in Arabic sports

Al Jazeera Media Institute

Sports Journalism Guide

“It’s the best job in the world,

Examples of such events:

- A match between the Egypt and

Sports Journalism Guide

How Sports Journalism has De-

There is not only one type of sports

Sports Journalism Guide

Sports Journalism and the Phases of Change

Sports journalism is a specialism that requires journal-

Sports journalism as a specialism first emerged at the

More recently, sports journalism has undergone a trans-

These days, professional athletes are often more trusting

The way in which sports has been influenced by ad-

Cosy relationships between sports journalists and their

Part of the problem here is the amount of money within

This poses ethical and professional questions about the

1- Plan your coverage: un- 5- Don’t get too friendly with

Sports Journalism Guide

9- Present your own identity:

1- Choose your media: This might be newspaper, television, digital, radio or

(Over the years, there have

1. Have passion: Get to know every

2. Start with your local team: Attend

4. Archive anything that catches

5. Write, write, write: Work on your

The content produced by sports jour-

If they stand any chance of compet-

To the journalists covering the World

Most sports journalists enter the field

Successful sports journalists must first

1- Develop your language skills: 6- Gather resources: This is best

4- Develop your critical thinking:

5- Diversify your content: Try out

“My advice to young journalists is to In some cases, I also allow notifica-

Sports Journalism Guide

It is impossible to absorb all the infor-

Want great stories? Tips for working alongside

4- Prepare a list of specific foot-

Sports Journalism Guide

When it comes to handling sources, best

I also try to record all information from my

Finally, the most important thing - it might

Sports Journalism Guide

4- Being professional and abiding 6- Keep up with other media out-

Sports Journalism Guide

fbref.com : is for those interested in sports-reference.com : this website

Practical steps to writing a good

1- Build a wide background knowledge. 5- Be innovative with your headline. In-

4- Choose a good peg. Your introduc-

Sports Journalism Guide

Sports journalists need an encyclopae-

Having a specialism within sports -

While building a specialist knowledge

1- Building a reputation: A jour-

2- Being a trusted source: A spe-