Sirayah Shiraz
Story:
My early encounter with Sirayah was about 3 year ago when she introduced herself to me and my colleagues in the workplace as our mentor. She came across as very polite and assertive in her speech that I for one took a very keen interest in. Sirayah did not hesitate to let us know she was an avid football fan mentioning her favourite team to be Chelsea fc. You could imagine the discussions that arose after but in the end, it became well known that she bled blue. Throughout my time knowing Sirayah, we have always had football discussions whether in person or social media. It is well versed her love for the game and also how much she knows about the sport.
Her passion and commitment towards making football much more diverse with the inclusion of more black female voices and youth in the industry is further evidence of her love and determination to make change within the football industry.
Reason for nomination:
Over the last couple of years, Sirayah has shown her determination to make football a very inclusive sport for all. She left her role within the financial industry to peruse her long term dream which was to work within the footballing world. Within a short space of time, she has been able to launch her own football podcast where she discusses the latest footballing trends and also analyses what needs to be done in the future to make football inclusive.
On the Shiraz segment she invites talented young speakers to share their thoughts on issues pertaining to football and sports as a whole.
Before embarking on this journey, she championed and lead the initiative to have youth from disadvantaged backgrounds given the opportunity to work within the financial sector and with that in mind I believe she will make a significant impact on society through her football journey.
She has shown throughout her career and personal life what dedicating to a course can lead you and how much of an impact growing up watching football has had on her. She challenges and encourages change wherever she is and I believe deserves this nomination!
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