Student's film on life after football up for award

A film made by a student about the struggles facing professional football hopefuls has been shortlisted for a national award.

Cole Mason's documentary Beyond The Pitch: Life after Academy Football has been nominated for the Best TV Sports Journalism award by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC).

He explores the emotional toll of being released from academies and the support available to players.

The University of Northampton student was on trial at an academy 10 years ago and said: "I understood the uncertainty and feeling of loss."

The film features interviews with ex-Manchester United academy player Will Mellors-Blair, who described being released at 18 as "like the rug is pulled from under your feet".

Former Northampton Town academy player Tom O'Neill was also interviewed and he has since found a role as assistant first team analyst at the same club.

Mr Mason also spoke to Pete Stephenson, Northampton Town's academy education lead, about the importance of balancing education with sport to prepare players for a brighter future.

Jefferson Lake, senior lecturer in multimedia sports journalism at the University of Northampton, said: "It's inspiring to see Cole turn the spotlight on the mental health support offered to young aspiring football players, leaning on his personal experiences to give a great insight to the problem and potential solutions."

Mr Mason added: "The end goal was for the documentary to be hopeful and share the message that there's more to life than football, and there are plenty of ways you can use what you learnt in the game and apply it in different areas of your life.

"When I heard my documentary had been shortlisted for an award by BJTC, it felt amazing."

The winners of the BJTC Awards are due to be announced later on Thursday.

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