Being a lifelong fan of Chelsea, it was a dream to be able to visit Stamford Bridge and get a chance to be in the press box.
Myself and three other UEL students, Will Stanley, Owen Quinn and Thomas Chambers, headed to West London for a taste of the press life at a match.
A Cold Night
On a chilly February night, Chelsea U18 took to the stage to battle with Blackpool U18 in a quarter-final match-up for the FA Youth Cup.
We arrived at the stadium shortly before 5pm and were warmly greeted as we made our way into the press room.
Chelsea made sure the press were well looked after with an array of snacks and beverages on offer.
The press room was shared by representatives of both teams, with plenty of journalists and media outlets getting on with their writing, mostly keeping themselves to themselves.
Plenty In Attendance
We made our way to the press box outside about 20 minutes before the 6pm kick-off. Every two seats had a mid-screen which showed Sky Sports News before switching to the game at kick-off.
As I looked around the press box, there were about 30 people in attendance. Something that I wasn’t surprised about but was still saddening was the lack of women. Besides myself, there were only two other women present.
There was a good amount of Blackpool fans in attendance. The first team played QPR on Wednesday evening, so they were making the most of their football ventures in London.
Blackpool were certainly the loudest of the two sets of fans. However, they were silenced when Charlie Webster put the Blues in front on the 71st-minute mark. The youngster scored a penalty and immediately ran to the away fans to shush them.
Legends Present
Chelsea legend John Terry was watching on, with Jody Morris by his side.
In the end, the Blues were victorious on the night with a 3-2 win, and I had to hide my jubilation.
The two teams put on an impressive contest and even though Chelsea were the favourites, Blackpool could have easily stolen it. A great advertisement for youth football.
There was no press conference before or after the game, so I unfortunately didn’t get to experience one in the flesh, but I have to remember, this is just the beginning and hopefully, more opportunities like this will come my way.