Another great addition to the SFU team

Giving up a career in cyber-security for journalism may not seem like a sensible career move. Cyber-security is, for obvious reasons, a growth area, whereas journalism is, as it always has been, a much more risky profession. Yet for John Shiels, it's a natural, indeed obvious choice.

After leaving school in 2007, John trained as a techie, before realising that what he really wanted to do, and what he is good at doing, is writing. Consequently, he studied for the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Diploma in Journalism, completing the course successfully in 2025. He was runner-Up of The Herald’s Sports Writer of the Year 2025 and has now embarked on a Master's degree in Sports Journalism, studying under David Tanner at Napier University. As if that's not enough, he's also learning Japanese - the consequence of a trip to Japan where he became a big fan of that country's domestic football league.

His interests encompass all areas of football, but he tells us that he's particularly keen to get involved in reporting on the women's game and also working as part of our disability team to help tackle inequalities in provision for disabled fans and seeking to make our national game more inclusive.

Stuart Murphy, CEO, the SFU