Henry Winter (Chief Football Writer at The Times), Miriam Walker-Khan (Diversity and Inclusion Reporter at Sky Sports), Anne-Marie Batson (broadcaster), and David Ornstein (Football Correspondent at The Athletic) will join over 90 mentors sharing their insight and knowledge with the next generation at the highly popular Kick It Out event.
The quartet will be joined at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium by Caroline Barker (Sky Sports and BBC broadcaster), Carrie Brown (BeIN sports correspondent), Robbie Lyle (entrepreneur and the face of Arsenal Fan TV), Clive Tyldesley (football commentator) and Suzy Wrack (Football Writer at The Guardian).
The Raise Your Game National Conference provides networking and mentoring opportunities for underrepresented people aspiring towards a career in the football industry, with participants able to spend one-on-one time with mentors who match their areas of interest.
In addition to Media and Communications, mentees can also speak to industry experts in Football Business and Administration, Grassroots and Community, Player Care, Management and Coaching, and Refereeing to match their career goals.
Miriam Walker-Khan, who is also Founder of Brown Girl Sport, said: "Being mentored has been hugely important to me throughout my career, as I had no connections in the sports media industry.
"Getting support and guidance from people in the know has been invaluable and I can’t wait to share some of my own advice at the Raise Your Game National Conference."
The Mentors
Henry Winter has been writing about football for 35 years, has been to nine World Cups and covered England since 1994. Chief Football Writer at The Times, he has had the privilege of interviewing everyone from Brazil legend Pelé to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and is on the Ballon d’Or voting panel.
Robbie Lyle, Founder and CEO of Global Fan Network, is a businessman, entrepreneur, and media personality. He is perhaps best known for being the face of AFTV (previously known as Arsenal Fan TV), which is just one of many Global Fan Network channels that also includes DR Sports.
Broadcaster, host and producer Anne-Marie Batson is a multi-platform sports broadcaster with several years’ on-air experience as a presenter, reporter and contributor. You will have seen or heard her on Premier League Productions (IMG), talkSPORT, BBC Sport, Times Radio and many others.
David Ornstein joined The Athletic in October 2019 after 12 years as a sports journalist and correspondent at the BBC. In the role of Football Correspondent, he is the go-to man for transfer news, has a massive following on social media and is renowned for big exclusives and in-depth interviews.
Miriam Walker-Khan is the Diversity & Inclusion Reporter at Sky Sports. She worked at BBC Sport for nearly six years, from a trainee to a senior reporter, as well as featuring on Match of the Day, Football Focus, MOTDx and being part of the Question of Sport podcast. She has also freelanced for Premier League Productions, COPA90 and is SEASON zine's editor.
Caroline Barker has hosted some of the world's biggest sports shows, from Sportshour and Sportsworld on the BBC World Service, to 5 live Sport in the UK. She also presents women's football and netball coverage on Sky Sports.
Clive Tyldesley has commentated on five World Cup finals, five European Championship finals and 25 Champions League finals, including the famous one in 1999 when Manchester United beat Bayern Munich in such dramatic circumstances. In addition to ITV, he works at TalkSPORT, BT Sport, NBC and Amazon Prime and has won the Royal Television Society Sports Commentator of the Year an unprecedented four times in the space of seven years.
Carrie Brown is a Senior Sports Correspondent and presenter for BeIN Sports. She was the first woman to chair the Football Writers' Association, and the first female chair of a major football organisation.
Suzanne Wrack is a Football Writer for the Guardian and author of the book A Women’s Game. She previously worked as a senior broadcast journalist for BBC Sport as well as a digital designer for The Sunday Times.
The Raise Your Game National Conference is the pinnacle of Kick It Out's mentoring programme and previous attendees have gone on to secure roles at all levels of the game, including at top football clubs and leading media outlets.
To find out more about the Raise Your Game Conference visit: www.kickitout.org/careers-football/raise-your-game
