We travelled to Manchester a couple of weekends ago to follow the six creative reporters taking part in Nike’s football documentation competition, The Chance. The 4 day UK Finals saw 100 of the most talented unsigned young footballers participating in the opportunity to be drilled and chosen by Manchester United’s top talent scouts and academy staff for 1 of 3 places to head to the global finals in Barcelona in August.

Each of the Reporters had a final opportunity to catch up with their footballer before entering the trials and out through their paces like any aspiring pro. From media experiences to motivational speeches, the Reporters were on hand to capture the energy and emotion of a busy few days, truly gaining an unrivalled insight into the life of a professional athlete. Just as the players were competing in eleven-a-side matches in a bid to impress, the reporters were beginning to contemplate not only the success of their footballers but their own creative competition and their bid to head to the global finals to meet and have their work critiqued by acclaimed film director Spike Lee.

All Reporters and footballers stayed at Mottram Hall Hotel, an established luxury hideout for all footballers in the North West. The three day trip saw the reporters showcase and discuss their work with the footballers, as well as being privy to the Chance lounge, hosted by Nike Sportswear, offering unique off-pitch experiences through product seeding and styling and private NikeiD sessions. This was also an opportunity for the reporters to showcase some of their finest selects so far through a creative Chance gallery area set up to offer the athletes an opportunity to see the journey of the reporters and how they are not the only one’s competing in the Chance.

A tough environment to be a fly-on-the-wall photographer and documenter, the Chance players were reduced from a starting 100 on Thursday reducing to 50 on the Friday and then the final 28 in preparation for the final eleven-a-side match on Sunday at Manchester United’s Carrington training ground before the final selection of the final 3 players to represent the UK in the global finals in Barcelona.

Manchester offered some of the most memorable experiences and emotions to both players and reporters alike as they head home more accomplished and inspired than when they arrived. The reporters now working hard with their mentor Neil Bedford to refine and select their final film edits and portfolio of work to be judged in a few week’s time. Stay close to see who makes the cut and follow their journey en route to Barcelona.