Find out more about BCOMS here

The Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS), founded in 2009 by sports journalist Leon Mann, aims to be the first port of call both for black professionals in the sports media and talented newcomers looking to develop their careers.

BCOMS believes that African, Caribbean and mixed race people are significantly under-represented in the sports media despite disproportionate interest in, and achievement from, the community on the field/track/court.

Find out more about our panellists here:

Dan Bedi

Dan is an award-winning entrepreneur and Co-Founder & CEO of JAFA, helping sports fans cut through the noise and powering the sports conversations of tomorrow. Public speaking, playing football and helping other entrepreneurs, Dan also commits his time to aiding several charitable causes he supports as well as helping the Sports Start-up Ecosystem through LSTN (London Sports Tech Network) which he co-founded.

Twitter: @jafa // Instagram: @jafa.app

Ashanti George-Faure

Ashanti is a Senior Talent Manager at Refresh Sports Consultancy and Productions. He started his career working in athlete management and has also previously worked at a leading cycling events company. His current role sees him working with world-class footballers, such as Yaya Toure, leading influencers such as Liv Cooke and MIP Alumni including Eric Abidal, Jason Roberts and Gilberto Silva. He is also one of the driving forces behind the Football Black List, which is an annual celebration that recognises the role that people from an African or Caribbean background play in the world of football. In addition to this, he is a consultant for BCOMS where is work sees him aim to make the sports media a more diverse place through his role on the ‘Diversification of the Sports Media’ programme.

Twitter: @ALNGeorge_Faure

Ahmed Shooble

Ahmed is the first member of his immediate family to attend university and last year became the first recipient of the SJA’s sports journalism diversity scholarship. He was born and brought up in North London and then attended Coventry University studying business and law. After university he interned at Refresh Sports and participated in the BCOMS ‘Diversification of the Sports Media’ programme. Ahmed is now a contributor for The Athletic, covering AFC Bournemouth. Prior to this, he was a freelance football writer with words for The Times, Sky Sports News and COPA90.

Twitter: @AhmedShooble 

Fadumo Olow

After joining the BCOMS ‘Diversification of the Sports Media’ programme Fadumo had the pleasure of working at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019 and won a national Football Black List award being named as ‘One To Watch’.

Fadumo is now the social media editor at The Telegraph focussing on women’s sport – through this role, Fadumo amplifies their messaging online to a younger audience but also writes long-form pieces. Prior to her media work Fadumo was a youth worker and she still regularly mentors school-age students from her local area.

Instagram: @fadumo_oo

Mayowa Quadri

Mayowa is a self-proclaimed conversationalist who looks to encourage discussion on important topics that may not addressed in mainstream media. Mayowa has been in the sports media space for a few years but has only recently been fully in the space following his appointment as Brand and Editorial officer at VERSUS.

Mayowa is passionate about youth development, diversity & inclusion and using football as a tool for societal change. He has ambitions of making sports media more diverse and showcasing new avenues to get involved away from traditional roles.

Twitter: @MayowaQuadri_ // Instagram: @mayowaquadri_