Football Business & Media student at UCFB Wembley, Conor Slater has recently enjoyed the company of global football stars, legends and journalists as part of his work placement with footballing charity, Football Beyond Borders (FBB).
First year student, Conor came across the charity at UCFB’s Freshers’ Fair and was fascinated by the work they had done and their plans for the future.
After arranging a meeting with the founder and shortly after becoming a member of the FBB team, he was then invited to attend one of their sessions in a school in Heston.
Impressed by the quality of the sessions, Conor commented:
“On the training pitch, I was impressed with the hard work, cooperation, respect, desire, and above all their passion for the FBB training, along with the amount of personal investment each FBB worker has for every student.”
Budding sports media professional Conor was then involved in FBB’s special event where former Chelsea midfielder Ramires gave one of FBB’s schools, Lan Franc in Croydon, a visit. Joined by other FBB staff, Conor led sessions that were being over watched by the Brazilian before being interviewed by some of the youngsters.
Now a regular, Conor also assisted in FBB’s final event of 2015, which was a charity dinner, with Gary Neville and Guillem Balague topping the guest list. On the night the children were able to ask questions to the current Valencia manager and Spanish football journalist. The event was a chance for FBB to showcase the charity work they completed in 2015, and they managed to raise over £23,000 through various activities on the night. The highlight of the night for Conor was when he was asked to sit beside Gary Neville on stage and record his debate with Guillem for their YouTube account.
On this unprecedented opportunity to lead on a large sporting event with industry idols, Conor commented:
“As a media student, this was a brilliant opportunity, and one I thrived in. If you had told me this time last year, as I was a school student studying for my exams in Dublin, that 12 months on I would be sitting beside one of the most recognisable footballers from the past twenty years, recording him speak about the beautiful game, I wouldn’t have believed you. However I have no doubt that this wasn’t a one off, and UCFB will continue to present opportunities for the students who are willing to get involved.
“I am over the moon with how life is in UCFB during my first year, with so many new projects and opportunities coming around in the football industry, both in and out of UCFB.”
