Football Writing Competition
Soccerlens is hosting a football writing competition - if you think you’re better than the journalist / blogger hacks you force yourself to read everyday (in some cases that’s not too difficult) and if you’re interested in making a career out of writing about football, this is your best shot.
For the next two weeks (1st to 14th October), I’ll be accepting article submissions for the contest (details and rules below). Provided that your entry meets some minimum criteria, your article will definitely be published on Soccerlens.
Our panel of bloggers / judges (listed below) will evaluate all published entries and pick a winner in the 3rd week of October, with the winner receiving (amongst the usual cash prize and free shirt from Subside Sports) a paid contract to write on Soccerlens and / or full network support (1 million+ pageviews per month) in launching and promoting your own football blog.
Prizes:
The usual SL contest prizes apply - there’s a $100 cash prize plus a free footy shirt on the house courtesy of our sponsors Subside Sports.
In addition, I’ll also be using this contest to bring in a new writer on the Soccerlens payroll.
Terms will be flexible based on how much time you will spend writing for us, however the value of that contract will mostly depend on how good a writer you are.
In short, a good writer may earn $X per article (or per month), but a great writer could earn $2X or $3X.
While the outright winner will get a contract offer, the top 3 (or 5) submissions will also have the option of getting financial assistance in starting / promoting their own blogs as part of the network of blogs we’re running. If you want to start your own football blog and you would benefit from the support of an established network in securing advertising deals and in promoting your site without giving up any of your site revenue, then this is an excellent opportunity for you to get started.
Your Submissions:
Apart from basic English and writing skills, the judges will test you on quality of writing, humor, analysis, ability to generate conversations and headline writing. Since your articles will be published on Soccerlens (and syndicated via NewsNow), we’ll have a great opportunity to test the last two elements in real time.
Article Length: Whatever length makes you achieve the best results for the criteria listed above. There’s a misconception that longer pieces do better - however a minimum of 500 words is expected, and because we don’t want book submissions, an upper limit of 2000 words will be enforced. Find your own space in between.
Topics: Write on what you’re passionate about. If it’s football history, do that. If it’s play by play for a live match, tell me and I’ll set it up for you (but you’d better be kickass 
). If it’s talking about your club, great. If there’s an issue you want to discuss, excellent.
If you’re interested in covering football celebrity gossip, or other non-playing matters, you’re welcome as well. The field is wide open (so talk about babes or technology or whatever) as long as there’s a footballing link. Be creative.
Judges:
The following bloggers were bribed to gladly agreed to be part of the judges panel. I’ll be joining them, and at the end of the competition all of us will vote for our 5 favourite articles, from which we will pick the top 3 submissions.
- Ed Harrison - Newcastle United blog
- Marco Pantanella - mCalcio blog
- Nic - FC Barcelona blog
- Red Ranter - Manchester United blog
- V - Kickette
- Ahmed Bilal - Soccerlens
Rules:
- 1 submission per person.
- All emails must be sent to contests(AT)soccerlens(dot)com with the subject ‘Writing Competition’.
- If you’re taking information from somewhere, mention your sources (in-context links).
- Get your facts right and use a spell checker - we’re less strict on grammar but it would be advisable to fix that too
- Submissions must be sent before the deadline (midnight, October 14th) - This deadline will be ‘enforced without exceptions’, so stick to it :).
- Not so much a rule as a suggestion - articles that get linked to from other sites (link bait) and / or articles that generate a lot of conversation (conversation bait) are your best bet for winning, so keep that in mind. Good writing counts, but so does being able to write something that will attract the interest of a lot of people (regardless of whether they agree or disagree).
- If you’ve written for Soccerlens before (or applied for a job) or even if you still write for SL, you can still take part in the competition.
Alright then - send in your submissions at contests(AT)soccerlens(dot)com, and if you have any questions ask them here. Feel free to promote this contest on your blogs and forums as well - any mentions will be noticed and appreciated.
Submitted Entries
- Why Do Americans Call It Soccer?
- The Reason Behind England’s ‘Failures’ Since 1966
- Are AC Milan finally too old?
- Where are my Cheerleaders?
- So…Will They Book Dida for Cheating?
- How a Moustache Might Save Football
- A Naan and a Leg
- Is the Champions League REALLY the best football competition in the world?
- Are Liverpool missing Pako?
- Oh No! The Big Bad Foreigner is Coming to Ruin English Football!
- Why Football is the Greatest Sport on the Planet
- The Romanian Revival: Back from the Wilderness
- Selección Española – can Spain’s elite compete with their international peers?
- Sexism in Football
- The MLS will one day get the Respect that it desires
- “Saving” American Soccer vs. Selling Brand Beckham: Yes, There Is A Conflict
- Are Chelsea preparing for the arrival of Frank Rijkaard?
- Can Money Buy You Happiness in the Premier League?
- Giuseppe Rossi Should Choose the U.S.
- England absence from Euro 2008 will be disastrous
- It’s A Fickle Old Game
- Abandon it like Beckham
- Finger Flickin’ Fun: The Brief History of Subbuteo
- A Goal or Not a Goal: Official Assisted Technology Systems
- Droyslden FC | The Romance of Non-League Football
- Shock Development: Keano’s Angry
- Football Fans : Flight Of The Headless Chicken
- There Should Be No ‘I’ In European Group Qualification
- Manchester United: Assured Ferdinand Finally Comes Of Age
- Are Premier League Footballers Good Value for Money?
- Where Is This Relationship Going?
- Kaka to Madrid, Ronaldinho to Milan, Iniesta on the left for Barcelona - A Perfect Future?
- The Heart of Football
- The Hidden Diaries of Ashley Cole
- Studies Show That Football Managers Are, Well, Insane
- Racism in the name of Science? A-Okay!
- Fifa Bungles Player of the Year Nominations Again
- National Team Monogamy
- Exploring the Rotation Myth and Liverpool’s Real Problem
- Premier League’s Biggest Transfer Flops
Please take out the time to read all submissions and comment on them.
[...] Lens is having a football writing contest. (That’s soccer to us [...]
Ahmed, I do not understand. Is the deadline on October 14th or October 31st?
“For the next two weeks (1st to 14th October)”
“Submissions must be sent before the deadline (midnight, October 31st)”
14th, my bad
[...] If you think you can write better than most journalists/bloggers, then this is the contest for you! Click this link to find out more about the contest, and good luck to all of those that enter! Related Items [...]
[...] Yes, you read it right. Ahmed of Soccerlens has asked me to let you people know that he is having a writing contest. [...]
[...] find out more, there are prizes and things go to - http://soccerlens.com/football-writing-competition/3257/Â Related Items from FC Barcelona [...]
is there an age limit, as i really want to enter this
nope, no age limit
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] journalism juices flowing – there’s really not much down side. Here’s the Link to the SoccerLens Football Writing Competition. Related news from the Newcastle United [...]
should we send submissions as word attachments or simply email the actual text?
Adam - both are fine.
I would enter, but then again I am extremely lazy…. I would win a contest if you had the slowest typer
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
can mauritians take part in these contests.
Sure they can. Martians too (sorry, that was too easy
)
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! We’re one week into the first-ever Soccerlens Writing Contest and in my view it’s going extremely well (considering that I was afraid that we’d get 0 [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] like to write about Manchester United on a semi-regular basis, please head over to ‘this page‘ and send in your entry. There are four days left and if anyone from here does well, then [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
What may be the reason of one entering into the contest by sending the submission, however, neither any response is given nor it is in the list of the submissions?
Thanks for the help
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! The first-ever Soccerlens Writing Competition is now closed. A big thanks to everyone who participated (including those who took the time out to [...]
[...] here This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 6:24 am and is filed under writing contests. [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!This article is a submission for the Soccerlens Football Writing Competition; to participate, please read the details [...]
[...] you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! Due to the enormous success of our previous writing contest, Soccerlens will be launching a new contest for the month of December, for which the theme will [...]