Abid Imam Presents: Road To Rio

On this edition, we are joined by Samantha Lewis (She/They). Samantha is a Digital Sports Journalist at the ABC who specialises in Australian women's football and women's football more broadly, covering all aspects of the sport from grassroots to the international level, including Olympic Games and World Cups, with a particular love of history, profiles, and long-form feature writing. Samantha’s work has been published by The Guardian, ESPN, Optus Sport, and SBS - The World Game (among others), and has been recognised by organisations such as The International Sports Press Association (AIPS). Gadigal land is where Samantha lives and works. Samantha is one of my favourite football writers on the planet, covering topics that cut to the core of Australian and world football, doing so in such a creative and emotive way, that certainly captures the feeling of a moment. I invited Samantha to the show before the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but because of our schedules, we couldn’t make it happen. This was actu

On this episode, we are joined by Anne-Catherine Ienne, she is the Team Lead of Volunteer Management at FIFA. She is from France and I worked in her team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. I just had to invite her on the show because I had such a great experience managing volunteers with FIFA. AC has an incredible story to tell about how important volunteers are to major sporting events and the impact they make in life in general. They are amazing people doing amazing things. AC is a sports leader at the highest level so it’s a wonderful opportunity to hear about her pathway and lessons working on World Cups and Olympics. This is a great listen for anyone who loves volunteering, supporting volunteers or even wants to understand more about what its like behind the scenes of major sporting events. So basically, everyone should listen. Thank you to AC for making the time during her busy schedule and she was joining me from Dubai. This show couldn’t be where it is without your support so please give me a revie

On this edition, Abid Imam is joined by one of the world’s great sports journalists, Tracey Holmes. She is truly a master interviewer and storyteller, and as we get to discover during the conversation, a world explorer who has so much valuable wisdom and life experiences to share from her decades of experience covering sport across the globe. Tracey started her career at the ABC in 1989 and her wonderful work over three decades has seen her become one of Australia’s most senior and respected sports journalists. She’s covered major issues in sports business, politics and governance. Tracey also has a long list of accolades from lifetime achievement awards to recognition from the International Olympic Committee. Her value set really aligns to the show and it is a conversation with many profound learnings. Thank you Tracey for your time. To hear more from Tracey Holmes, please check out her work through The Sports Ambassador.

Josh Grainger/Ningaloo Records joins Abid Imam on Freo de Janeiro for a chat about all things music, vinyl, parties, and creating community in Walyalup/Fremantle. Josh is a Walyalup/Fremantle based DJ, record collector and the head honcho at Ningaloo Records. Emerging from humble beginnings, the Ningaloo Records brand founder has enjoyed a rise to fame in recent years, educating dance floors every weekend via several residencies around Boorloo/Perth. Renowned for his dynamic and high energy DJ sets, Josh bring that vibe for an awesome convo on the show. Photo cred; @fredi_mg

Dominique Mecoy is an inspirational leader with an amazing career journey story to tell. Her career has spanned numerous fields. She is now the CEO of Leadership WA, a not-for-profit organisation which provides experiential leadership development, creating leaders galvanised to develop themselves and create positive impact upon the community. Dominique provides plenty of wisdom and helpful advice to unleash the potential leader in us all. Thank you to the team at Leadership WA for making this happen. Show notes are on freodejaneiro.com/dommecoy. Enjoy

We are joined by someone who is absolutely outstanding and you will definitely enjoy listening to. Perth/Boorloo based leader and advocate Zahra Al Hilaly. She has a very wide ranging list of accolades. Including Western Australian Young Person of the Year for 2022 and a Young Australian of the Year nominee. She’s involved with the United Nations across gender equity and youth leadership. Zahra is a champion for representation and has gone global with her advocacy. My reason for inviting her was because I was just so impressed by what she’s achieved as a young West Australian, first generation Aussie with Iraqi/Palestinian heritage. Zahra’s a must hear voice across some key issues and I hope you enjoy the messages and perspective she conveys so eloquently. Show notes are on freodejaneiro.com/zahra. Enjoy

Robbie Gaspar (@RobbieGaspar23) joins Abid Imam on Freo de Janeiro for a chat about all things sports diplomacy, being a professional footballer in Asia and building people to people links in a globally significant region. Show notes - freodejaneiro.com/

Champion Australian cricketer and coach Adam Voges OAM joins Abid Imam for a wide ranging discussion covering leadership, elite coaching, sustained success and much more Shownotes - http://abidimam.com/

As a lifelong Freo Dockers fan, it was an honour and privilege to chat with the club CEO Simon Garlick. He was open in talking about his career journey, sports leadership and strategy in the AFL. A former CEO of the Western Bulldogs (2010-2015), Simon was appointed CEO of Fremantle effective November 18, 2019 after serving as CEO of Bastion EBA (2015-2019), a division of Bastion Collective, Australia’s leading independent marketing, communications and commercial agency. Simon, who played a combined 181 games for Sydney and the Western Bulldogs (1994-2004), also has extensive experience as a director, with previous governance responsibility on the AFL Players’ Association board and as a Western Bulldogs board member. He has expertise in complex stakeholder management and engagement experience across governing bodies, local, state and federal governments, media and the negotiation of major commercial/sponsorship contracts with multinational corporations. Educated at St Kevin’s College in Melbourne, Simon ha

Natalie Burton is an Australian professional basketballer and Rio 2016 Olympian. Throughout her career, she’s played at a high level around the world. Natalie has constantly searched for the deeper meaning behind sport which makes her story very compelling. It’s a must-listen, especially for younger athletes or those working with them. Natalie has embarked on inspiring future generations through her Enriched Athletes Mentoring Program and the work she does with Olympics Unleashed throughout Western Australia. It was a joy to dive deeper into the mindset of an athlete with Natalie on Freo de Janeiro.

Shownotes: abidimam.com/ps4l An honour to speak to Tamara Awartani from Ramallah, Palestine about growing up and living there before creating a successful NGO to support her community through sport and education. About Tamara Awartani: Tamara is the founder and director of Palestine: Sport for Life (PS4L) - the only local Sports for Development (S4D) organization and member in several international S4D networks. She is the first Palestinian to be a well-known international expert in sports for development and sports management. She planned, designed, implemented and evaluated several S4D programs and modules aligned to the SDGs, specifically in youth empowerment and social cohesion, quality education, gender equality and employment. Tamara has a postgraduate degree in Sport Management from Royal Holloway, London, an MBA in Business and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from Jordan. She is currently doing her doctorate at the German Sport University Cologne (DSHS) in Sports for developmen

Shownotes - http://abidimam.com/gilly/ A huge moment for the show. Legendary Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist joins Abid Imam for a wide ranging discussion covering life experiences, sport, inclusion, cultural diversity and much more. About Adam Gilchrist Many cricket fans believe that Adam Gilchrist is the greatest wicketkeeper/batsman to have played the game. Adam’s aggressive batting style made him a fan favourite with Australian crowd, but it was his honesty that earned the respect of the cricket world as Gilly was known to walk regardless of the umpire’s decision. He is the only wicketkeeper to have captained the Australian Test and One Day teams. Adam was universally acknowledged for his leadership and outstanding contribution to the Australian team in both forms of the game. Gilchrist is now a well-respected and in demand commentator and host, lending his voice and insights to the game of cricket all over the world. Career Statistics: 96 test match appearances 416 test dismissals 17 test cen

Mary Harvey was a goalkeeper for the US Women's National Soccer team, winning both the World Cup and Olympic Gold. A former Director of Development at FIFA, Mary did much to drive gender reforms, and the work she did still has huge global impact for the women’s game. Mary also served on the board of US Soccer for 12 years and was COO for the US Women’s Professional Soccer league. Mary is now Chief Executive of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights. Shownotes: abidimam.com/maryharvey

Nina Las Vegas is a music producer, NLV Records founder/boss, world-class DJ, former host of Triple J House Party and all round champion of Australian music. Nina and I spoke about making music, DJ'ing, the intersection of sport and music plus some great cultural travel stories. There was a bird chirping in the room for the first bit of the episode, it gives the sound some soothing character anyway!! Thanks to Nina for being such a legend. Make sure to go listen to her tracks! Show Notes: http://abidimam.com/ninalasvegas

Show Notes: https://abidimam.com/budapest I am pumped for this episode because it's packed with firsts and has been a while in the making. It was as experimental as anything I've produced and rough around the edges. But you know what? that's the Freo de Janeiro way. Once upon a time in the world of travel pre-COVID I was in Budapest, Hungary for the Sziget music festival, which on a side note is a great event. I was committed to not just visiting for the fun and disco dancing but to actually find out about whats happening in society. I researched some of whats going down in the human rights area and was dismayed. So I thought it would be really wonderful to talk to sports leaders from minority groups at the coalface, voices you may never really hear on a podcast. So I visited the Mahatma Gandhi Human Rights Organisation to talk to their founder and president Gibril Deen, an inspiring man who is originally from Gambia in Africa and has lived in Budapest for over 30 years. Later in this episode you'll also

June 25, 2020 will be a day etched in Australia & New Zealand sporting folklore, both nations were awarded the rights to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Jane Fernandez had the huge responsibility as General Manager of the Bid. You could only imagine how she felt in the lead up to this announcement. Basking in the glory of victory, Jane was great enough to join me for a detailed discussion dissecting exactly how an excellent bid was formulated and won against worthy opponents in the world of high stakes international football politics. A real interesting eye/ear opener for sports fans Show Notes: https://abidimam.com/asone

Karishma Ali (@KarishmaAli22) of Chitral in remote north-west Pakistan is the first girl from her hometown to have played football and Australian rules football at a national and international level. She has represented Pakistan in football at the Jubilee Games in Dubai, and was part of the first women's team from Pakistan to participate in an AFL International Cup in 2017. Karishma is also the founder of the groundbreaking Chitral Women's Sports Club and Chitral Women's Handicrafts Centre. For these pioneering exploits and her incredible leadership, Karishma has received deserved accolades which has seen her featured on Forbes Asia’s 30 under 30 list, Milan Fashion Week and FIFA.com among many others. Karishma joins me for a wide-ranging discussion on the impact sport has played on her life, how she continues to be a driving force for her community and now on a much broader level. Show Notes: https://www.abidimam.com/karishma

Tim Vickery (@Tim_Vickery) is the BBC's South American Football Correspondent based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Born and raised in London, Tim explains his remarkable journey leading him to Brazil and becoming one of the world’s finest football journalists covering the South American game for the BBC, World Soccer and ESPN, as well as being an analyst for SporTV. Tim has a masterful and engaging style of explaining the game while fusing the social and cultural context. This is especially highlighted in his work on the world famous BBC World Football Phone-In podcast, where he’s known as the ‘Legendinho’. This was a really fun conversation that encompasses culture, language, football and Brazil. Thank you to Tim, the ‘Legendinho’ for joining me. Enjoy! Show Notes: http://www.abidimam.com/timvickery/

Professor Fiona Wood AM is one of Australia’s most innovative and respected surgeons and researchers. A highly skilled plastic and reconstructive surgeon and world leading burns specialist, she has pioneered research and technology development in burns medicine. It was an absolute privilege to be able to discuss her inspirational journey and the approach to life that has enabled her to make a great contribution to the world. We had a connection through our involvements with gymnastics, so it is also great to speak to her about her passion for sport and trampoline gymnastics. Professor Wood’s positions include Director of the Burns Service of Western Australia (BSWA), Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Fiona Stanley Hospital (previously at Royal Perth Hospital) and Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and Winthrop Professor (Burns Injury Research Unit) at the School of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine UWA. She was awarded Member of the Order of Australia in 2003, the Australian Medical Association’s ‘Contributi

Craig Foster (@Craig_Foster) is a former Socceroos captain, SBS Chief Football Analyst and a renowned global advocate for diversity and social harmony. I was absolutely overjoyed when he accepted my invitation to have a chat about football and human rights. Growing up as a football fan, SBS's coverage of the game was my authority. Craig Foster, along with the late Les Murray and Johnny Warren have been very influential figures covering Australian football in the media. Craig reminisces over World Cup memories, from when he saw his first tournament as a boy growing up in regional NSW to being on-the-ground for SBS during the Socceroos roller coaster Germany 2006 World Cup campaign. We talk about his football philosophy. how he would like the game to develop and reach its potential in Australia. Craig then shares insight on global sports governance and the intersection of sport with human rights. We conclude with an update on his current work in this important field. This is a must-listen episode for