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Expert Q&A

A Q&A with Fiona Maple

An expert interview with Fiona Maple a journalist focused on women in sport.

I'd always been fascinated by the whole media world, and obviously, I'd always loved my sport as well. So I went to London for a Master's in Broadcast Journalism, and that kind of just reaffirmed to me how much I loved it and wanted to get involved with this world. So I joined a community radio station in South London called Riverside when I was doing my Master's, and did their sports show on Saturdays while I was doing my Master's degree. This was a sort of voluntary thing, and that was great fun. It taught me a lot. I produced the show.

I've spoken to so many brilliant people, but Amy Lasu, who I actually spoke to right at the beginning when I started at The News Movement, is the captain of South Sudan's women's football team. Her story is really cool, and I'd love more people to know about these kinds of stories. It's a real example of the struggle of women to do sport in other regions of the world. We kind of take for granted the fact that we can just join a local football team if we want to. Amy told me about the challenges she faced, including the gender roles in South Sudan, where not many women can play football because they are expected to do housework or cleaning once they're married. If you're playing football in the national team, you can't get married. Her career would end right there.

If you have a passion, absolutely go for it, and be curious about listening to other people. Talk to as many people as you can. Networking is incredibly important. Keep the contacts and numbers of people so that when opportunities come up or you need help with something, you can reach out to them. Take people for as many coffees as you can!

I have tried everything just because I enjoy it so much. I include sport and exercise in that because I love going to the gym, and my new thing is lifting weights. I keep rediscovering things that I really enjoy, whether that be fitness classes, training for different events, and just giving things a go.

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