Production Process - Interview #1

Grassroots football is special due to the personalities involved. From the players to the tea lady at local football organisations, sacrifices are made to contribute to the aspects that make the United Kingdom a footballing nation.

With this, I thought it was important to put this into perspective in my documentary and find a case study, and find out specific examples of what it takes to immerse yourself in grassroots football and try and contribute to a personal livelihood through it.

A local football team, Bournemouth Poppies FC, currently playing in the ninth tier of English football in the Sydenhams Wessex Premier League, have helped me with this.

I have undertaken a role at the club as a media content producer/manager as this is a line of work that I would like to see a future in. And speaking to assistant manager of the club, Leo Cabeleira, I was able to find a case study for my radio documentary.

I have done some preliminary recorded interviews with Leo, with some of the audio likely to make it into the final piece, as he discusses issues such as a lack of funding for clubs such as Bournemouth Poppies FC, and how tough it can be to make ends meet.

I feel it is important to inject authenticity to the piece through this manner, as it is easy to focus more on finance in a documentary, without exploring where the impact is being felt within grassroots football due to a lack of investment.