Five years ago, Amy founded the African Sports Network with the aim of increasing the engagement and awareness of the sports industry in Africa. Keep reading to find out more about Amy’s journey into the industry and the work ASN does.
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Can you tell us about your journey into the sports industry and when you knew you wanted to work in sports?
As someone who was always active in sports, I never actually wanted to work in sports, as my dream was to be an athlete. As I’ve shared many times, I was a 1500m track athlete growing up and participated in various team sports. Sport was always my safe space, which taught me valuable life skills such as discipline, teamwork, and other values I still carry today. My transition from participating in sports to wanting to work in sports happened when I realized that sports was not accessible for everyone, including myself, as I faced various barriers as an athlete. My goal became to try and remove those barriers for other people like me, especially young, black, African youth and girls. More importantly, I wanted others to experience the power of sport and feel the values it transmits, which are life-changing, in my opinion.
You are the founder of the African Sports Network; can you tell us more about the work ASN does?
The African Sports Network was founded to increase engagement and awareness in the sports industry. Over the years, our aim has been to create a platform for young people to network, gain insights, and learn about the sports industry. Our core belief is that the African sports industry has lots of untapped potential, and we want to help others understand that, including athletes themselves. We have a holistic approach that aims to help athletes build skills in their personal lives besides their talent development. Our focus has been on personal branding, financial literacy, and other core skills.
What was your reason behind setting up ASN?
ASN was set up to empower African athletes to know and understand their place in the industry. It was set up to create a network, whether local or international, online or offline, to help young people in the sports industry network, learn, and connect with other like-minded individuals in order to be positioned for success. I launched ASN because this is exactly what I lacked when I first ventured into the sports industry. It would have been great to know and have a space to share with like-minded individuals as passionate about sports as I am. Additionally, it would have been valuable to have access to successful professionals in the sports industry. This would have paved the way for networking, inspiration, job opportunities, and more. While setting up ASN, I thought of the issues I faced as a young athlete and when venturing into the sports industry, and tried to create a platform that supports young athletes in the way I would have liked to be supported.
What has been your favourite part of running ASN, and where do you see ASN going in the next 5-10 years?
My favourite part of ASN has been the incredible people I have met while building the organization, both athletes and industry players. I learn so much from them every day. It continues to be inspiring to be surrounded by sports, seeing great athletes achieve their goals, and incredible people create impactful projects. In the next 5 – 10 years, I envision that ASN will be a groundbreaking digital platform where African athletes can network, be their own content creators, and gain worldwide visibility.
What are some of the events ASN has run and industry conferences you have participated in?
Over the years, ASN has hosted various workshops related to personal development for athletes. These workshops have focused on networking and education combined strategically so that the athletes can be in a room with like-minded individuals who have similar journeys to theirs while learning from industry professionals at the same time. Experienced professionals lead these workshops in their various fields, be it sports marketing, sports law or even former athletes, as we believe that these are the best people to inspire the athletes. Besides this, I have represented ASN at various conferences globally, which is always a chance for me to share what we do to be a voice and a representative for African women in sports globally. There are many rooms globally that lack our perspective and narrative, and my goal is to be in those spaces and consistently be a representative of African sport.
Are there any challenges you have faced as a young black woman in the sports industry? If so, how have you been able to overcome them?
As a young, black African woman, I have faced various challenges while navigating the sports industry. I will highlight the challenge of being a young changemaker as I was still a teenager when I ventured into the sports industry, and this was a big challenge to overcome. If you know and understand sports, you’ll know that many sports clubs and federations’ leadership is very senior. This poses a challenge for a young pioneer to work at the same level, as seniority brings respect. When you are young and start a project, there is often the idea that you lack experience, and I felt that it was harder to be trusted to get involved, bring ideas, and execute projects. To overcome this, I have focused a lot on mentorship from established individuals in the industry who have been vital in opening doors for me that I usually would not have been able to access. My mentors all stem from diverse backgrounds, age groups and expertise levels, and their advocating for me has been extremely uplifting towards my journey today.
What is one piece of advice you would give to a young person who has a similar background to you and feels the industry is not for them?
If you have a passion for sports and want to work in the industry, you should not limit yourself, regardless of the barriers placed around you. Whatever challenge you are facing, please reach out to any role models you can find around you, online or in person, and see if you can get some tips and advice. There have been moments where a simple call with a fellow industry mate has completely lifted my spirits and helped me find the motivation to keep going. People can be extremely valuable, so I urge you to connect as much as possible and form meaningful relationships with people you can lean on as you start your journey into the sports industry.
If you were to choose one person to shine a light on in the industry, who would it be and why?
I want to shine a light on Debby Larry-Izamoje. I recently met Debby at the World Football Summit in Seville, Spain. It was impressive to see how she travelled all the way from Nigeria to represent herself, her company and, of course, the African continent. She is the COO of Brila Media and continues to do great work in the world of sports and more importantly, contributes to Nigerian women’s football.
Want to connect with Amy? Head over to our Networks page to find out more!