By Kirsty Rollings
Port Vale FC fans’ Ale and The Vale Podcast has been nominated in The Real EFL’s League One Podcast of the Year. Football supporters of Leagues 1 and 2 were asked to nominate in 12 categories, with highest nominations being shortlisted to the top four for each award.
Ale and The Vale Podcast now sits alongside Rams Review, Charlton Live and Grecian Cast as the category finalists. The winner of the final four will be chosen by an independent panel of eight industry experts set to be announced soon.
Port Vale’s Ale and The Vale Podcast was set up in 2020 by three Valiants watching the games remotely during Covid. Founder Stu Kerby had recently moved to live in Canada and reached out to friends Daniel Berrisford and Jonny Hancock back in the UK to launch the show as a way of bringing the Vale community back together during the pandemic.
Three years later, Ale and The Vale has gained popularity through a series of former and current player and manager interviews, alongside the regular match preview and review chats and rants! Credit has to be given to the joys of Port Vale’s 21/22 season which provided a plethora of animation and content for the Podcast, ending with a promotion victory at Wembley!
Often described as ‘like mates chatting down the pub’, the Podcast has used airtime to address some bigger issues over the years, in particular using the platform to speak out about mental health and encouraging other Vale fans to do the same.
In addition, through podcast sponsorship, almost £1,000 has been donated to charities including Mind and Douglas McMillan, as well as almost £500 financial support for other Port Vale related initiatives run by the football club and supporters club.
