Relegation-threatened teams in the English Premier League are usually pretty creative when it comes to finding ways to save money, but this remedy just seems cruel.
Last-place Reading FC followed in the footsteps of Wigan Athletic (18th of 20 teams) recently, when it posted a job opening online for a year-long postgraduate internship position with the club’s performance analysis department, according to the Independent.
The lucky recipient of this coveted position will be required to attend all of Reading’s home games and some away games, using their own car, and will receive no compensation for gas or travel expenses. Nor will they be paid for any of their effort.
Not only will the intern work full-time, but will have to put up with “unsociable hours,” spending them collecting, analyzing and interpreting raw statistics and video data for the coaching staff.
England’s Employment Minister Jo Swinson has been working to compile information on more than a hundred instances of companies overworking their unpaid interns — Premier League teams being no exception.
Wigan representatives defended their similarly demanding opening as an “excellent opportunity to join a progressive, forward-thinking club,” adding that it could be “an important part of career progression and experience building for any individual starting out on the path to their dream job.”
So essentially, unless potential applicants are independently wealthy fans of Reading or Wigan, with copious free time, a valid UK license, a car and a postgraduate-level expertise in sports data analysis… they need not apply.
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Photo via Twitter/@ReadingFC
