Kentish Football 
Kent Non-League Soccer features heavily in New Sports Magazine
Thursday 02nd December 2010
Kent non-league soccer fans have a new publication available in which to read more about their favourite teams and players.
"Sporting Kent" magazine, which has just printed its second edition, is a bi-monthly general sports magazine produced by Thanet Publishing, based in Margate.
The editor is Kevin Redsull, a former staff man on the KM sports desk, and here he explains the background behind the magazine:
"Phillip Moore, the Managing Director of Thanet Publishing, is a big sports fan and he felt there could be a place for a magazine dedicated purely to Kent sport. And at the same time he felt the magazine could also put a little bit of money back into sports clubs' coffers by encouraging them to sell it in their own club bars and shops and keep 50p of the £1 cover price for every copy sold.
"Initially the idea was to make the magazine a monthly publication but, in the current tough economic climate, we have had to revise our plans and make "Sporting Kent", for the forseeable future at least, a bi-monthly publication.
“Understandably, potential advertisers have wanted to see the first two editions before they decide whether to come on board but their feedback thus far has been very encouraging. Additionally, by making the magazine a bi-monthly it means we will have more time to distribute "Sporting Kent" as widely as possible across the county.
"That's the basic business premise behind the magazine. As for the content, we definitely want to try to make it a general sports magazine and give coverage to a wide range of sports.
“The second edition, for example, includes articles on rugby, hockey, golf, rowing, basketball, triathlon and rollerhockey as well as a full lookback at how Kent competitors fared in the Commonwealth Games.
"But that said, if 'Sporting Kent' is to have a viable future then we feel we need to make it a publication that the followers of non-league football in the county want to buy on a regular basis (a) because it's a good read and (b) because they know that every time they buy a copy their club will keep 50 per cent of the proceeds.
"If a club sells 100 copies of every issue they will make £50 for themselves, which is maybe not much to some of the bigger clubs in the county but I can think of quite a few Kent League clubs, for example, who might be grateful for £50 every couple of months to perhaps give their volunteer barman a little financial recompense or maybe purchase some new equipment.
"So non-league soccer will be one of the 'staples' of 'Sporting Kent' and our second edition includes two feature-length articles by our chief soccer writer Mark Winter, a long-time Dover Athletic follower who is understandably revelling in the Whites' tremendous FA Cup run and our February-March edition (due out in late January) will include full coverage of Dover's third-round tie at Huddersfield.
“In the current edition we also take a look back at the end of Hythe Town and Dartford's Cup runs through the eyes of this website's very own Stephen McCartney, who I am pleased to say will also be contributing to our non-league coverage on a regular basis.
“Incidentally, to help spread awareness of the magazine, we are giving the 60-page second edition away free to clubs and they can decide whether to keep the full £1 cover price themselves or give it away for free.
"To the best of my knowledge this is the first time anyone has tried to produce a general sports magazine for Kent and inevitably it's going to be something of a 'suck it and see' process, but we are very grateful for the positive feedback and encouragement we have already received from clubs such as Margate, Folkestone Invicta, Hythe Town and Herne Bay, as well as from the Kent County FA.
“I would love to hear from other clubs and organisations across the county who would like to get involved with 'Sporting Kent', either because they would want to sell the magazine or because they have an idea for an article or a feature on their club."
You can contact Kevin at: kevin.redsull@thanet-publishing.co.uk
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd