Andy Elliott to work with SJA committee - Sports Journalists' Association

Andy Elliott, a former Daily Express deputy sports editor and the sports editor at Press Association sport for 11 years, has joined the SJA committee.

Elliott was the unanimous choice of the committee to be co-opted to assist in the Association’s work when a vacancy arose after Louise Poynton stepped down recently due to pressure of work. Thankfully, he accepted the invitation when approached by SJA chairman, David Walker.

With his rich and varied background in the business, Elliott has been an important member of the SJA’s judging panel on our British Sports Journalism Awards for several years. On the committee, his expertise is expected to be called upon for a range of issues, particularly including European football.

Elliott trained on the Hull Daily Mail in the late 1970s before moving to the Sheffield Morning Telegraph as a sports writer-sub where he reported on Wednesday and United. After a spell as deputy sports editor at the Yorkshire Post, he joined the Daily Express in Manchester as a sports sub-editor in 1986. Moving to London, Elliott spent 10 years with the Express, progressing to deputy sports editor. He left there in 1996 to work on The Sun backbench before being approached to become sports editor at PA in Leeds.

During his time at PA Sport, the journalistic staff grew from about 50 to 200 and, at its height, had a global operation of more than 1,500 correspondents, servicing contracts with media, bookmakers and governing bodies worldwide. In 2008, Elliott left to set up his own content consultancy, Elliott Sports Media, and joined the operational board of Opta, and since then has worked for various bodies including the FA, SIS and UEFA.

Since the beginning of 2013, Elliott has taken on a fuller role with UEFA around media liaison, acting as a link between the media in the UK and Nyon. He also runs a small York-based content agency, Content Factory, which provides advice and supplies bespoke copy to a range of digital clients in the sports and technology worlds, including British horseracing.