The work behind the posts in Welsh football
I do the vast majority of the things listed below as part of my role at Holywell Town. Social media, graphics, photography, video, interviews, website updates and the requests that come in around them. Individually, some might seem like small jobs. Put them together over a week and the hours soon add up.
It got me thinking about how much goes into a media role in Welsh football and what that contribution might be worth. Most of the people doing this work are volunteers, giving up their evenings and weekends around jobs, family and other commitments.
That is why I wanted to look at the time involved and the possible costs of providing this coverage. When the content appears regularly, it is easy to overlook the hours behind it, along with the travel, equipment and sometimes personal expense. Putting some estimated figures against those tasks helps explain the contribution people are making, even when no money changes hands.
I hope this gives clubs and supporters a better understanding of what they are asking of their media people and why supporting them matters. A role can carry a considerable amount of work and value, even when it is unpaid.
As far as I am aware, a couple of clubs in Wales pay their media people a wage, although there may be other arrangements I am unaware of. That is different from covering expenses or paying someone for a particular service, such as match photography.
Some clubs have a team sharing the responsibilities. Others rely on one person. Those people also bring different skills and experience, from professionals working in creative industries to volunteers learning as they go. Expectations need to reflect that, along with the time and support available.
Why media matters
Media is a big part of the modern game at every level of football, and the same applies across sport. For many people, a club’s social accounts and website are their main connection to it during the week. That is where they find out about fixtures, follow results, get to know the players and see what is happening beyond matchday.
Good coverage also gives a club a way to reach new supporters, promote events and show sponsors where their support is making a difference. A club further down the pyramid still has stories worth telling and people worth recognising. You do not need a huge audience for that to matter to your community.
As clubs want to do more online, it is worth remembering who is making that possible. Regular, thoughtful coverage needs time, access to information and support from the club, particularly when the people delivering it are volunteers.
What could the work be worth
All the times and costs below are estimates. They are not fixed prices, expected working times or a record of my own week. To put a rough value on that time, I have used an estimated rate of £20 to £30 an hour. Actual rates would vary depending on the work and someone’s experience, but it gives an idea of the contribution being made when those hours are given voluntarily. This is an illustrative range, not an established Welsh football rate or a suggested wage.
The estimates assume a substantial content schedule and existing templates. Actual hours and prices will depend on experience, tools, the amount of content and the standard of editing required. Smaller packages can take less time and cost less.
| Discipline | What the allowance covers | Estimated time | Estimated value at £20 to £30 an hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social media management | Planning, captions, adapting and publishing content across TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook and LinkedIn, routine engagement and reporting | 7.5 to 13 hours per week | £150 to £390 per week |
| Graphic design | A weekly mix of next match, lineup, full time, in match, general information, event and announcement graphics using existing templates | 3 to 6 hours per week | £60 to £180 per week |
| Next match poster | Adapting existing match artwork for print and preparing the file | 0.5 to 1 hour per poster | £10 to £30 per poster |
| First team match photography | Arrivals, warmups, the match, final whistle coverage, selecting and editing photos, uploading and publishing a gallery | 5.5 to 9 hours per match | £110 to £270 per match |
| Match video production | Preparation, filming, reviewing footage, editing a straightforward highlights package and publishing | 6.5 to 11 hours per match | £130 to £330 per match |
| Post match interviews | Arranging and preparing questions, recording, editing, captioning and publishing one or two interviews | 1.5 to 2.5 hours per match | £30 to £75 per match |
| Training photography | Preparation, covering a 90 minute session, selecting and editing images and publishing | 3.25 to 5 hours per session | £65 to £150 per session |
| Training video | Preparation, covering a 90 minute session, editing short social video and publishing | 3.75 to 6 hours per session | £75 to £180 per session |
| Combined training photos and video | One shared visit, alternating between photographs and short video clips, with editing and training posts included | 4.75 to 8 hours per session | £95 to £240 per session |
| Development team and other age group social coverage | Collecting information and producing around four routine fixture or result posts across the additional teams | 1.5 to 3 hours per week | £30 to £90 per week |
| Development match photography | Warmups, the match, selecting and editing a smaller gallery and publishing | 4.5 to 6.75 hours per match attended | £90 to £202.5 per match |
| Website updates | A modest mix of news publishing, fixtures, results, player information, sponsor details and event updates | 2 to 4 hours per week | £40 to £120 per week |
| Enquiries and administration | General supporter and press enquiries, internal coordination and routine requests outside the other allowances | 1 to 3 hours per week | £20 to £90 per week |
You would not add every row together. The combined training package counts the visit once and includes training posts. Additional team posts include their routine graphics. Shared writing, publishing and setup time should also be counted once.
The match is only part of it
First team coverage can mean 3 to 4 hours at the ground for arrivals, warmups, the match and final whistle reactions. Development matches can involve 2.5 to 3 hours including warmups. Training is usually 90 minutes, plus setting up and packing away.
Then comes selecting photographs, reviewing footage, editing and publishing. A small gallery or a lightly trimmed clip will take less time than a large photo set or an edited montage. The figures should count active work and required attendance, rather than automatically adding time while a computer exports a file.
There are practical limits too. One person cannot reliably film a whole match, photograph it and provide detailed live commentary simultaneously. That needs support, supplied footage or agreed priorities. Detailed live updates need their own time allowance.
Travel and equipment count too
Four hours travelling to an away game and back is another four hours of someone’s day. At the illustrative £20 to £30 hourly rate, that represents £80 to £120 of time. A 200 mile journey at 55p a mile adds £110 in vehicle expenses, making £190 to £230 before parking or tolls.
The 55p figure is HMRC’s 2026/27 benchmark for the first 10,000 eligible business miles in a private car or van, with 25p thereafter. It is not a requirement for clubs to pay that rate. Club transport removes personal mileage costs, but the time commitment remains.
Software does not have to be expensive. Canva Free, GIMP, Figma Starter and the free version of DaVinci Resolve offer options for graphics, image editing and video. A club can have no software subscription bill, although the person’s time and skill still have value. Canva does not chase the lineup for you.
A broader paid software setup could have an illustrative allowance of £50 to £175 a month, depending on the subscriptions and storage required. That is optional, not a minimum cost. Hosting and domain costs also need considering.
Camera equipment has a cost even when someone already owns it. A possible setup budget of £2,600 to £6,100 could cover a body, lenses and basic accessories, although second hand equipment can cost much less. As a replacement example, £4,000 spread over four years is around £83 a month before resale value, insurance or repairs.
Clubs should agree how expenses and personal equipment are supported. Costs already included in a freelance fee should not be added again.
How the hours add up
For someone covering a broad range of these duties, I would estimate around 20 to 30 hours in a normal week with one match. That could include 8 to 12 hours across social media, graphics, website updates and enquiries, 5.5 to 9 hours on match photography, 3 to 6 hours on training coverage and 1 to 4 hours travelling. The exact mix will vary, and shared tasks should only be counted once.
That is a working estimate, not a measured average across Welsh clubs or a record of my own hours. It assumes a more modest content schedule than the fuller end of the table. Some weeks will involve less, while fuller training coverage, extra teams, video editing or a long away journey could take the commitment to 30 to 40 hours or more. Separate match filming and highlights production would need additional time and support.
At the illustrative £20 to £30 hourly rate, a 20 to 30 hour week represents an estimated £400 to £900 worth of time before expenses. That is a way to recognise the contribution, rather than an amount a club necessarily pays or owes.
Even 20 hours is a considerable amount to fit around work and family. Recording a few weeks of actual time, including messages, revisions and those small jobs between bigger tasks, would give each club a clearer picture.
Penybont provides a Welsh example, having advertised a full time Digital Media Executive role at £25,000 to £28,000 a year, depending on experience, for 37.5 hours a week. The duties included social media, photo and video content, website updates and media enquiries, with support from the club’s executive and volunteer team. That is the advertised range, rather than confirmation of an appointment or the salary someone was ultimately paid.
Paid roles elsewhere provide some context. Rochdale advertised an entry level full time media officer at £25,000 in June 2026, while Hednesford advertised a media and communications manager at £28,000 to £35,000 in April 2026. Those English clubs operate in a different financial setting, but the examples show these responsibilities being recognised as professional work. They do not establish a Welsh pay scale.
Recognising the contribution
I know clubs have limited budgets and plenty of demands on their money. Putting a value on voluntary work does not mean presenting them with an invoice. It helps explain the contribution and what replacing it could involve.
Support might mean covering expenses, providing equipment, paying for a particular service or finding someone else to share the load. It also means recognising that an experienced professional and someone starting out will need different levels of support.
I do the vast majority of these things because they are part of my role and I care about how the club is represented. For supporters, I hope this gives some context to the content appearing throughout the week. For clubs, understanding that commitment makes it easier to support the people behind it.
Sources
Published information checked on 11 November 2026. Hours and the £20 to £30 hourly valuation are illustrative estimates, not figures taken from these sources.
Rochdale AFC media officer vacancy
Hednesford Town FC media and communications manager vacancy
Shot’s On published sports coverage packages
Canva plans including Canva Free