Join The Mane Land Staff

Hey, you (yes, you!) You’re probably here because you enjoy soccer and possibly because you support Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, OCB, or some combination of the three.

If you enjoy soccer and talking about this club with your friends, you might be perfect for our team, because if you can talk about soccer, you can probably write about it as well. Writing is just talking on a screen with your fingers, after all.

We're always looking for contributors of all kinds (writers, editors, graphics/video folks, social media managers, etc.) to help tell the story of our Lions and Pride. You don't have to live in Orlando (although that helps), as we live in this wonderful information age. No matter where you live, you could join our team!

If you have talents you think might fit our team, please let us know. Simply write to us at themaneland@gmail.com and let us know how you’d like to contribute — writing, editing, photography, creating graphics, video editing, etc. It might even be something we haven't even thought of yet.

It is important to note that we do this out of a love for the beautiful game and these positions are on a voluntary basis. However, some of our staff have gone on to more financially rewarding opportunities as a result of their time with us. You never know what this experience will lead to. Like anything else in life, you're likely to get out of it what you put in.

Currently Seeking:

Highest priority:

• Staff writers – You don’t need a degree in journalism or English to write for us. If you like to talk about soccer, you can probably write about it as well. Writing staff members contribute regularly to our ongoing coverage, or are responsible for one particular area of interest that you’ll cover on an as-needed basis (i.e. match takeaways, player grades, USMNT or USWNT matches, Pride previews, Q&As, etc.). You can choose your own topics and volunteer for the stuff you want to cover or, if you’re not sure what to write about, ask what we need most and prioritize those tasks.
• Orlando Pride writers – Help track the Pride and bring their story to our site. Volunteer for what interests you: game previews, recaps, player grades & player of the match, and five takeaways from the matches are a few examples. Cover home matches in person from the press box in the stadium. Interview players and coaches and write feature stories. Analyze game play. Whatever interests you could be your niche with us. Choose your own adventure.
• Orlando City B writers – These contributors will provide regular content on Orlando City’s MLS NEXT Pro team, OCB. This may include match previews, “how to watch” posts, recaps, or reports from training during the season. This may also include feature stories and updates in the off-season. If you’ve ever wanted to cover matches from the press box, here’s your chance. Availability to attend training to provide full coverage on site is a plus but certainly not mandatory (hey, nothing here is mandatory!).
• Photographers – Build your portfolio and gain experience shooting professional sports in one of the best environments in soccer! With two teams playing their games at Orlando City Stadium, we’re looking for additional photographers to shoot Orlando City and Pride matches. Additionally, we need folks who can shoot OCB matches at Osceola County Stadium and folks who can cover various other activities, such as Florida Cup or whatever other events occur around the Orlando area.
• Breaking News – If your days are free, you might enjoy setting aside a few convenient hours a week to scan the web for potential story ideas or write up breaking news when it happens. With a different experience every day, this could appeal to those who don't have the time to write regularly or who have trouble with topic selection.
• Youth / Academy writer – We are seeking those interested in covering the club's youth/academy system. This is an important role, as today's academy players are tomorrow's Homegrown Players on the senior roster. This position gathers youth / academy results, profiles potential HGPs, interviews coaches and keeps up with important tournaments and events. Just think, you'll know about the next big thing before it hits MLS. Note: this could be a combined job with some OCB coverage if so desired.
• Social media managers – These contributors scan social media for content ideas such as interesting or unusual photos, videos, etc. They also could help with social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.
• Video content contributors – If you enjoy creating highlight clips, hype videos, etc., this could be your jam. Are you interested in working with the writing staff to snip specific plays, and possibly adding graphic elements to help provide context and analysis to what happens on the pitch? If you can quickly create a gif from game streams, or you like to create highlight videos for YouTube, we’d like to have you on the team.
• National team writers – We're seeking multiple contributors who enjoy following USMNT, USWNT, and other national teams that feature Orlando City and Orlando Pride players and key youth national teams/tournaments. These folks will provide informative previews, "how to watch" posts, and recaps. We want to expand our coverage of the national program and international soccer in general, particularly where it concerns Orlando’s players.
• Graphics specialists – Create infographics, charts, etc. and design all manner of graphics as needed, working with the writers and management team to help make stories more attractive and interesting through illustration. Create interesting game posters. Work with social media people to create compelling graphics to accompany posts. Build your art portfolio in a fun environment! Photoshop/Illustrator experience helpful. You never know where this could lead once people see your work.

Evergreen positions constantly in demand:

• Soccer analysts – We're always searching for individuals to provide tactical analysis and break down why things happened on the pitch. Some college soccer or advanced coaching is preferred but not a must. The ability to illustrate your tactical points through the use photos/video is also helpful.
• Editors – Can you spot a subject/verb disagreement from a mile away? An editor position may be for you! How often do you get to correct people without anyone shaming you for it? This position will edit copy for submitted stories, make headlines punchier and more SEO-friendly, and ensure the story has a properly cropped/centered photo that helps tell the story. Typically you'll only be on "desk duty" one or two evenings per week when it fits your schedule, and fill in as when your schedule allows for breaking news. You may also write stories as fits your schedule and take part in our roundtable discussions.

About TML

Our little blog became an idea and then an independent WordPress site in late September of 2014, and went live on SBNation in December of that year. We think we've taken some pretty large strides forward toward our goal of becoming the best soccer blog covering an MLS team, but we need your help to take the next step.

We have designs on providing the best possible coverage of Orlando City SC, the Orlando Pride, and Orlando City B available anywhere. We also want to give proper coverage to all things soccer-related in the City Beautiful. We need more enthusiastic hands on deck to pull that off. So let us know if this is you:

We have an energetic and knowledgeable staff, including writers with tactical expertise, historical perspective, and a good sense of the broad picture of MLS specifically and soccer in general.

We want to add to this staff and expand our ability to bring quality content to all who would consume it.

Contact us at themaneland@gmail.com today!