Member of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) and Happy98.9FM’s sports wunderkind, Ayishatu Zakaria Ali has been selected as the only Ghanaian for the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) Young Reporters Program in Switzerland.
The program which starts from 20th November and ends on 27th November, 2021 will see young reporters receiving timeless and priceless lessons from world renowned mentors. These mentors include; Riccardo Romani, Martin Mazur, Keir Radnedge and Andrea Giannini.
As part of the training, the selected young reporters will embark on familiarization trips to some Sports Federations and Institutions in and around Lausanne.
Founded in 1924 in Paris, AIPS is the only recognized international body representing the sport media, with 161 national association members including Ghana and over 9,500 active members worldwide and is based in the Olympic capital Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ayishatu Zakaria Ali, known in the sports industry as women’s football expert and advocate, has dedicated her time and resources in the past four years to the promotion women sports, especially women’s football in Ghana.
She has hosted the big guns in the sports industry such madam Fatma Samoura, FIFA Secretary General, Laura Georges, Secretary General of the French Football Federation, High Commissioner of the Republic of Botswana to the Commonwealth of Australia, Her Excellency Dorcas Makgato, Chairperson of Futballing Girls NPO and Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute, and 1st Vice-President of the Gauteng Sports Confederation, Moonira Ramathula, Director of South Sudan Women Football and South Sudan Football Association, Jean Sseninde, former Director of Legal Affairs and Compliance at the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Achta Mahamat among others in internationally listened to and watched dialogues.
Her love for the development and growth of the beautiful game has seen her champion a lot of causes for women football, with the most recent being her ground breaking story on Hasaacas Ladies’ FC financial crisis ahead their CAF Women’s Champions League, WAFU Zone B Qualifiers. The neglect of the Senior Women’s National Team, the Black Queens ahead of the Tokyo 2020 qualifiers, the demonstration by the Black Queens demanding for their bonuses owed them by the state which yearned positive results among others.
She was appointed as the Player Relations Officer (women category) by the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG) headed by football legend Tony Baffoe.
Ayishatu continues to promote women’s football through journalism. She has been covering the Ghana premier league and the women’s premier league for years. She has also moderated several Women in Football events like the special International Women’s Day edition of Happy Sports on Happy FM and represented as a panelist on various sports shows as well.
In 2019, she was appointed the Black Queens team media officer for the WAFU Zone B tournament in Ivory Coast and is a fellow of Women In Football, UK. She also covered the maiden edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League WAFU Zone B qualifiers in Ivory Coast this year.
The young respected reporter, who is also an active member of SWAG in good standing was part of the 100 Young Reporters from over 55 countries across the globe who participated in the maiden edition of the AIPS e-College which she passed with distinction in 2020.
She is also a former Communications Director of Immigration Ladies FC.
About AIPS Young Reporters Program
The Young Reporters Programme, is a cornerstone initiative for AIPS. The AIPS Young Reporters Programme is equivalent to a Master’s in Sports Journalism
Mission: In cooperation with top international sports federations and AIPS partners, the AIPS Young Reporters Programme offers the new generation a unique chance of first-hand experience at covering a top international event, of learning directly from experienced sports journalists and from their peers from all over the world. It offers young journalists starting off in the profession the opportunity and the learning experience of high-pressure situations in the day-to-day coverage of a sporting event.
After the programme’s end, the Young Reporters will have gained invaluable experience across all fields of sports journalism, they will have created an international network of colleagues from around the world, insight into the workings of an international sports federation, and a vastly improved level of English for those who do not have it as a first language.
To date, AIPS has organized 28 Young Reporters Programmes, with over 200 Young Reporters from more than 80 nations across 5 continents.
Source : www.swagghana.com
