Russian sports journalists are invited to apply for a nine-month sports journalism course organized by the soccer club Zenit. Deadline: August 1.

The course will run from September 2009 to May 2010. Trainers will be Russian and international sports writers and anchors. Leading graduates of the course will be given opportunities to intern in radio, newspaper and online media.

Applicants must submit a statement of purpose answering the question "Why did you decide to become a sports journalist?" (no more than 3,000 characters) and an additional essay (no more than 5,000 characters).

The tuition is RUB 500 (about US$16) per seminar.

For information (in Russian), visit http://www.fc-zenit.ru/info/page.phtml?id=470133. Applications should be sent to school@fc-zenit.ru.