ENSCHEDE, August 8, 2017 - UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin made two presentations onthe climactic, concluding day of UEFA Women's EURO 2017 in the Netherlands.
The second was to the Dutch winners of the European women'schampionship after their exciting 4-2 victory over Denmark in the final in theTwente stadium in Enschede.
Čeferin, hours before rewarding Sarina Wiegman's team fortheir efforts, had also presented graduation certificates to the latest crop ofAIPS Young Reporters who had worked their way through the tournament from theOpening Match.
AIPS has been developing its unique Young Reportersprogramme for six years, and this was the third successful venture with UEFAafter the European Under-21 tournaments in Israel (2013) and Czech Republic(2015).
Alongside learning how to interview or write match reportsagainst deadlines on the job, the Young Reporters were 'competing' withestablished and experienced journalists in the stadiums.
This might have appeared a daunting task, but thanks to theguidance of three mentors – Keir Radnedge, Martin Mazur and Riccardo Romani –the AIPS Young Reporters learned how to work in a stadium environment, as wellas how to explore, develop and practise the key skills required for journalismin the modern era.
UEFA president Čeferin, who handed over the certificates toall of the participants on the day before the final, added his backing to theprogramme, saying: “UEFA is proud to support, together with the AIPS, thisgroup of young journalists who have been covering the UEFA Women’s EURO.
“We are sure that they have gained valuable experiencereporting about this great tournament and this will surely help them in theircareers in the future.”
Days were filled with press conferences, matches and mixedzones. Some of the fledgling journalists had never written a match reportbefore, and all were ready to improve, so the 12 group stage games in theopening 12 days presented a formidable challenge.
Jeroen Adriaanse, AIPS Young Reporter from the Netherlands, consideredthis intensity vital in his learning process.
He said: “You start to take a different approach because yourealise how different each game is. You don’t merely focus on your own team;for example, when Iceland played against Austria, that was an entirelydifferent game with different stories.
“As you do more and more mixed zone interviews, you start todevelop your own mindset for the questions you ask.”
Being inside the stadium and talking to players was key toobtaining stories – but it was the classes with the mentors that were animportant catalyst in helping the budding reporters improve as the tournamentprogressed.
The lectures covered topics such as questioning, preparationand styles with the mentors' personal insights providing extra insight intowhat it means to be a successful sports journalist.
By the end of the tournament, more than 140 articles hadbeen produced, all varying in content, and all increasing in quality.
Gianni Merlo, president of AIPS, said: “We are working allthe time to improve our courses, and value the cooperation we have been able toundertake with UEFA.
“Together, I think we have been able to create a programmethat is an investment in the culture of journalism and football, somethingwhich is necessary in these times. This is all about education, related both toour profession and to understanding the future of football.”
The Netherlands lifted the trophy – while all 13 AIPS YoungReporters ended the tournament with a prize of their own in terms of a sportsmedia education.
