Transforming Your Career in Football Through an Online Portfolio

An online portfolio changed my life.

It brought me numerous opportunities that helped me get to where I am today. However, it wasn't always like this. I have been the person who wanted to work in football. I have been the university graduate struggling to create opportunities in the game. I have been looking to transition into a football career from another industry.

I have been where you are, and I know how transformative an online portfolio can be.

Identifying the Challenges

There are a number of problems that you have or are experiencing that I have encountered.

Concerns such as worrying about putting yourself out there, feeling like no one is going to see your work, struggling to know what to post, getting access to data or video online, and generally knowing what to post, getting ideas, and being worried about making yourself vulnerable.

Desired Outcomes

However, there are several outcomes that I know you desire. These include:

1. Creating opportunities in football

2. Landing a job and working in football

3. Transitioning or starting a career

4. Growing a network

5. Finding like-minded people from whom you can learn and develop

These are the key outcomes that I know people like you want.

Traditional Methods vs. Online Portfolio

Things I have tried along the way include taking courses and attempting to get onto the FA talent ID courses, which are very difficult to access.

I have gone through traditional education and obtained a university degree to secure opportunities. While I was able to get placements, they did not lead to full-time opportunities. That was the traditional method.

The thing that changed for me, and what I did differently, was sharing my work online through an online portfolio. By doing this, I was able to carve out a niche in a specific area of football, focusing on EFL content and specifically on Nottingham Forest.

I then branched out into player recruitment, creating bespoke recruiting metrics, which led to working freelance and part-time initially, and that has since grown into my full-time role today.

The Power of an Online Portfolio

This experience has changed my life for the better. It has enabled me to secure my dream job and work in football, and that is exactly what I walk through in my course.

The specific elements that helped my online portfolio included focusing on a specific niche, such as the football league, particularly Nottingham Forest. For others, it may involve concentrating on competitions outside the top five leagues. By focusing on these areas, you can create an audience that resonates with your work, rather than just producing content for likes.

For example, my long-form work on a Nottingham Forest recruitment plan was the project that truly got me noticed and opened doors for me. It was an extensive research project analysing the current squad and recommending players for recruitment.

I highly recommend long-form work as a showcase of the skills you can offer to help open doors.

Overcoming Challenges

The main challenges I faced when starting an online portfolio were understanding what content to share and not becoming too consumed by likes and engagement.

I focused on posting work in specific areas of football that were not part of the top five leagues. I overcame this by experimenting with the content I posted, including short-form and long-form visuals, scouting pieces, full reports, and similar materials.

I grew my specific niche because it was an area of football that I was incredibly interested in. Being a Nottingham Forest supporter made it a personal interest for me. Many people have a niche in football based on the data and video access they have. There are plenty of great data and video resources available online for free that allow individuals to focus on football outside of the top five leagues. This includes leagues from Africa and Asia, as well as the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Conclusion

The specific moment that an online portfolio made a difference in my career was when it opened doors to part-time and freelance work opportunities.

It enabled me to work directly with specific agents and players on analysis content, as well as allowing me to work part-time with Wigan Athletic alongside my day job. Securing those forms of work was a great sign that people were interested in the content I was producing and recognised that I had the skills to work in football.

If you're looking to develop your knowledge, grow your network, and increase your opportunities in football, I highly recommend starting an online portfolio. It can be the key to unlocking the career you've always dreamed of.