Name – Trevor Knell
Age – 49
Favourite team – Barnet 
Occupation – Warehouse Operative/Football Writer
Thing I love about football – Non-League still being as pure as it can
My football pet hate – Anything that doesn’t enhance the game

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How did you first get involved in non-league football, and what drew you to it?

I first watched a game when I was eight years old, my late father taking me to Maidstone Utd. That experience stayed with me, but he also took me to a lot of non-league grounds around Kent as I grew up.

When I moved to Sussex in 2007 I started watching locally around where I live as well as following my own club further afield and ended up on the committee at Step 5 Wick FC.

I’ve always been a non-league fan, I think over the years I’ve been more drawn in by the lack of respect shown by the Premier League, TV companies and owners, in non-league you’re not just a number.

From your own journey in non-league football, what lessons or experiences have stayed with you the most?

I think probably that time on the committee of a much lower non-league was extremely eye opening. I ended up as both Secretary and Treasurer at one point and that experience was something else, huge respect for anyone in the game whose done a role like that.

Before I got to that point I covered the social media bringing it from scratch to high level rankings on Pitchero so I learnt how to build from nothing into something to be proud of.

What role has non-league football played in shaping your career and outlook on the game?

I wish it gave me more shape haha! I’ve been very lucky in building a contact book of players and managers from the National League right down to Step 6 and that grows year upon year.

Despite the work that we all do I still don’t think non-league football gets anywhere near the coverage it should. It is for me the biggest growing part of the game with so many people dropping down to watch a game.

What inspired you to co-found the SNLF and what was the original mission behind it?

With the sad decline in regional newspapers covering non-league football I always knew there was a gap to be exploited here in Sussex. My aim was to create a website that could be used by fans, clubs, players and more but also for those outside the county who wanted to find out information and in July 2024 the SNLF (Sussex Non League Football) was born.

Can you briefly explains how the SNLF works and what it’s main activities are?

Since we launched the website last year we’ve grown into a main podcast with a spin off show coupled with a YouTube channel and launched this season a stats based show that goes out once a month to cover as many angles as we can.

Who are the people or communities that the SNLF serve, and what are their biggest needs?

We cover all the Sussex clubs from Step 2 down to Step 6 which number 56 in total. This season we’ve added Step 7 and one Step 8 division which brings the total to over 80. We’re here to try and help push them and their messages or information further across Sussex and beyond.

How has the landscape (social, economic, legal) changed since the SNLF started, and how has that affected your work?

I guess it’s actually gotten bigger rather than changed, not just from the aspect of us adding more clubs under our portfolio. We’ve been quite adaptable in what we do and we’re lucky we get a good amount of feedback in both positive and negative fashion. 

It’s not always possible to put everything into practice but at the end of the day we’re here to give people what they want but without stepping over the line or offending anyone.

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What has been the most rewarding success that the SNLF has achieved so far?

I would say our website visitors and podcast listening figures were above the levels I expected to hit for the first year. We’ve now moved onto hosting live shows once a week and at times we’ve had in excess of 1000 people watching and contributing, but we’re constantly trying to push boundaries and create more, we don’t see anything as a limit.

What is the biggest challenge you face on a regular basis, and how do you address it?

The biggest challenge is trying to do everyone and every club justice. Working it around a full time job and other commitments does make it tough to capture everything we want to so we try to encourage clubs and individuals to provide us with copy to use and expand on.

How is the SNLF funded, and how sustainable are those funding sources?

To open we used external funding to get the project off the ground and managed to attract sponsorship to allow us to cover costs last season. This year that level has increased but we are aware of needing to branch out further into other areas of the game to grow as a brand and ensure we’re able to sustain ourselves moving forwards.

What innovations or new approaches has the SNLF adopted recently?

As I mentioned above we now spend a Wednesday evening recording a live show which we use the audio still for a podcast release on Thursdays. We are due to launch an app which by the time this goes to print should be functioning.

Where do you see the organisation in 5 years? What are your long-term goals?

I would hope by that time it is the one stop shop for information, full of news and the type that gets missed by other sites or other people. The full on long term goal is to be a sustainable outfit that allows me to be a full writer on this project and my own work (www.footballwriting.co.uk)

Are there collaborations or partnerships that you’re particularly proud of or that have made a big difference?

Last year we partnered with Your Instant Replay. I was very keen last year to be with Sussex based sides being that’s the football side we cover and I’ve known Louis Clark for a number of years, it was the perfect start to be involved with them.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a similar project?

Absolutely do your research first! There are gaps across the country for all the things we’ve so far implemented. For me it’s been something that I’ve had on the radar for a very long time and it took a conversation in a different direction to my co-founder Mike McCaffrey to bring it to life.

What keeps you going personally in this work, especially through difficult times?

It’s never difficult to write about football! The toughest part I think is not having enough time to do what I would call ‘giving it justice’ to everything I do for the site, the show, or the podcast.

The only boundary we have is the county line around East and West Sussex, other than that there are many opportunities and avenues we’ve yet to tap in to, you have to keep moving or you stagnate and others will overtake you.