ANOTHER YEAR When considering which photographs to include in this 2016 review, it could have been very easy to include images from the large number of national and international games that I have covered. I’ve covered both men’s and women’s international football, Premier League, Championship, leagues one and two and the Women’s Super League. However, I decided to keep this review to local teams; the clubs that form the grassroots of their respective sports. The main connection between these clubs and the ones that play in the higher leagues is passion. I believe that having a successful grassroots set up allows the professional clubs to benefit from the hard work being put in and the development of players. In many cases, clubs at the lower levels struggle to keep going financially. They are not blessed with hundreds or thousands of supporters, paying match after match to gain entry. However, despite all the issues they face, the games are exciting. The players are committed to winning for their club and that passion shines through. I’ve been to a huge number of games, covered many different sports during the last 12 months
and I see what winning means to both the players and supporters. If I have one message for sports fans who currently are not involved in local sport - adopt a club and support them, you won’t regret it. I’d like to thank Ed White and Rhys Howell from the local papers for their continued support through 2016. Their coverage of sport is brilliant and they put long hours in to try and provide readers with some of the most comprehensive match reports, interviews and articles in the country. Finally, I have spent a long time sorting through the photos I’ve taken to try and select meaningful shots. For every photo in this review, I could have easily selected another ten, the individuals and clubs have provided a year full of great moments to select from. So here is my A to Z of images from 2016, maybe not the most technically brilliant of photos, but ones that hopefully convey some of the highs and lows and certainly some of the passion. I hope you like.
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