AFP-FIFA media course in session

The first phase of the week-long AFP-FIFA media professional training course which brought together a good number of sports writers, including photographers and webmasters across Africa, is currently in session in Dakar, Senegal.

The high profile media training program which was initiated by FIFA in preparation for South Africa 2010 kicked-off on Monday.

The first day of the training program gave participants the unique opportunity to learn about sports writing, particularly covering football.

The AFP professional sports editor, Barnaby Chesterman, who led his team to their first training session on Monday, said the purpose of the initiative is to help African journalists train on football reporting ahead of the first-ever World Cup to be staged on African soil.

The 33-year-old former Aston University student in England, spent three years at the Kent Messenger, a local newspaper in South-East England, before moving to AFP in Paris in 2006.

He underscored the importance of the initiative, given the fact that it will go a long way in trying to help African journalists to be exposed to an international standard.

The current AFP-Italy sports correspondent, based in Rome, hailed the participants for showing a lot of enthusiasm and commitment, but was quick to add that the level of English, as well as the construction of the stories needed to be improved.

The AFP sports editor lectured participants on the ethics of football writing such as match reporting, preview writing, running stories and interviewing, during the first two days of the training course.

This is expected to be followed by player profiling, the in-depth focus and press conference reporting, and some work on accuracy in the next two days.