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“I always think I’m at my best when I’m calm, content and my faith is strong. I always say all the best things have happened for me when my faith has been at it’s strongest.”

When you became a mum for the first time did you have to take a step back from your career at all, and did it affect you – being a woman in the sports industry that’s been notoriously tough for women to break into?

 It’s hard to say whether it affected it directly, but I’d say it definitely took much longer to get to my eventual destination. My kids are 20 months apart, so I had to take a real pause in life of about three years. I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be workwise when I first fell pregnant, so it certainly slowed the process, but I managed to catch up, I guess.

I was working for the BBC in London when I had my daughter and then the job moved to Manchester, which added another layer to the juggle.

However, BT Sport launched the year my son was born and their HQ just happened to be on my doorstep, so that changed everything for the better. I spent my first year based in the office (and juggling the Manchester role), but the following year I started working on the European football, which meant travelling all the time. I’d say that was really my starting point in terms of my ‘parent journey’ in sport. I’d be locked in, often on the road, Monday to Friday in the week and one weekend a month in Manchester with the BBC, whilst navigating two children who were 2 and 3 years old on top of that. That was the most gruelling time of my life with practically zero support and understanding within the industry. Sometimes I look back and think: “how did I do that?” I don’t remember breathing much! Joking aside, I will never sugar coat how tough that period of my life was.

I’m definitely glad I had my children when I did, so despite the initial pause, I feel really blessed. I truly believe in things happening when they’re meant to and this is definitely one of those examples.

Career-wise, you have some amazing career accolades, including going to Qatar for the World Cup and most recently fronting the Paris Olympics. How did you juggle everything during those times and did you have to navigate mum guilt?

The juggle is endless and the mum guilt never goes away. You just have to put your professional hat on and say to yourself, “Right, this is what’s happening and there’s nothing I can do about it. This is part of what I do.”

It’s really hard work. I think it’s hard enough without kids to prepare for a month away and be on top of everything, but when you have a family, and especially as a mother, it’s even more challenging. Mentally that juggle is harder than the actual physical juggle because you’re always torn between two different worlds.

My ex-husband and I share parental responsibility – we’re completely 50/50 and live five minutes away from each other, so however our schedules pan out, we are very flexible and always find a way to make it work.

The kids understand my job and what I do, and to be honest, I don’t think they even notice when I’m away any more! [she jokes].

As with a lot of people in this industry, you work hours that are completely inconvenient to family life. It’s mostly evenings and weekends, but when you work on big tournaments, that’s not a regular set up that’s conducive to family life either, so you have to be constantly flexible.

You also have to have tunnel vision in a sense and be very understanding and kind to yourself. And whilst you have that mental tussle of being away from the kids, you have to be able to deal with it, be professional, do a good job and know that you will make up for things when you get back home. You have to become resilient and most importantly, just get on with it. I have to keep reminding myself about the most important thing: I have a great relationship with my kids, I love them and they know that.

“Hosting the FIFA World Cup Draw in Qatar in 2022 and then presenting the tournament for the host broadcaster was amazing, particularly as a Muslim woman representing on that global stage. That felt like a big deal.”

Now that your children are older do you think that by them watching their mum follow her dreams and have a successful career that it will inspire them to follow their career dreams?

 My kids are 12 and 13 years old now, so at the moment, my very existence is cringe!! They think I’m embarrassing and it’s actually their friends who defend me when they tease away! That’s just the kind of fun and silly relationship we have. But joking aside, I hope they see a hard-working mum – because I definitely don’t want my kids to be bums! I don’t ever want them to think that anything comes for free, because it doesn’t and you have to work really, really hard to get to do what you love.

I think they “partially” notice the organisation I have to do behind the scenes as well, because I don’t go away and leave it to anybody else. It’s like a military operation, whether it’s cooking four or five meals for them, organising their laundry, sorting cover for when I’m not there for pick ups or whatever else comes up. The outside world will never see that other part of your life. Sometimes, I think people assume you’re just magically teleported into your glamorous job, when in reality, with kids, there’s so much that goes on before you’ve left the house. Work is the easy part!

Even if the kids don’t fully understand the whole process now, I hope in years to come they’ll look back and think “Mum always thought of us and looked after us, even when she had to go away.”

What has been the hardest thing that you’ve had to overcome since having children and juggling your career, and how did you navigate your way through that?

My biggest challenge was just getting into presenting in the first place, and particularly, sports presenting. It’s a really tough industry to get into full stop. I didn’t know anyone in TV, nor did I have an influential friend or family member in sport who knew what I was capable of in a decision-making role. It’s the one elephant in the room that never gets talked about, because it really fast-tracks your career when you know someone who can get you in front of the right people. Add on being Asian, as well as a woman. Plus attitudes towards people from diverse backgrounds was totally different when I started out, so the barriers to entry were enormous for me.

The other hurdle was working at a high level with two young children and all my love and credit goes to my amazing parents – my own and my ex-in- laws. I’m so lucky both sets lived close by and were always on hand the entire time. The kids were so young, they needed 24-7 care and there’s no way I could’ve navigated this road without them.

During these times, it’s completely natural to feel it’s all to getting on top of you. The industry is brutal and effort doesn’t always equate to meritocracy on the career ladder and that was a hard truth to be confronted with. That’s the case whether you have kids or not, but when you do and you’re going above and beyond to balance work and look after your family and still not get the opportunities you’re striving for, it can be really tough to take.

As a parent, the sheer pressure and responsibility of keeping little humans alive, as well as bringing them up to be good, well-rounded individuals means you’re constantly navigating so many differing and difficult emotions.

It’s definitely easier in this phase of my life. I’m really content and I’m not chasing anything any more. I just feel blessed to have the life I have and my lovely little family.

How do you pick yourself up on those days when something is disappointing, what techniques do you use to find that peace and put everything into perspective?

For me, it’s my faith. I’ve always had my religion, Islam and it’s my anchor in life, along with my family to lean on. I always have this innate belief in “tawakkal” – the faith that everything will be okay. Even on a hard day and during difficult life experiences, like when I lost my dad a few years ago, it guides me every step of the way.

I really believe in gratitude too. I never take for granted how lucky I am to just be happy and have all these amazing people in my life. It’s so important to remember there’s always someone worse off than you.

It’s funny because I really don’t stress about the big things. I don’t get nervous about what might happen in the next five or six years, I just believe that what’s best for me will happen when the time is right. It’s taken a while to train my mind to get to that point, but it’s very liberating.

There was a period of my life when I was in this amazing habit (during my divorce and lockdown, actually) which I’m trying to get back to. I’d wake up a few minutes earlier than I needed to, listen to a 10-minute meditation and then I’d write in my gratitude journal. It was such a calming ritual, I don’t know why I stopped doing it, because I really enjoyed it.

I always think I’m at my best when I’m calm, content and my faith is strong. I always say all the best things have happened for me when my faith has been at it’s strongest.

This is what works for me, but it’s not for everyone and I think it’s lovely when you can develop your own tools and find out what suits you best to cope with whatever hurdles may come your way. Don’t get me wrong, I still have days where I’m rueing everything that’s gone wrong, but you just have to stop and think, “Is it really that bad?” When you pause and take a step back you often realise it’s probably not. Everything is salvageable in some kind of way.

What would you say has been your career highlight or highlights to date?

That’s tough, as there have been some standouts which have been so much fun and ones I’ve really enjoyed.
When I look back at my time at Real Madrid TV, the day Cristiano Ronaldo signed for the club was epic. From doing his first interview, to the press conference to the unveiling on the pitch, it was such a massive event in Madrid. I remember my colleagues saying at the time that we’d remember that day forever because it was special to see the magic of it all and be a part of it.
Hosting the FIFA World Cup Draw in Qatar in 2022 with Idris Elba and then presenting the tournament for the host broadcaster beIN Sports was also amazing, particularly as a Muslim woman representing on that global stage. That felt like a a big deal.
Another time was hosting the UEFA Champions League draw with Messi and Ronaldo together, which, by then, was an unexpected surprise. I told my presenter we should do something special with them, he agreed and the chat went viral, which was special too.
The Olympics is also incredible on so many levels and I’ve been lucky enough to have worked on five now. It’s the absolute sporting elite and such a privilege to do.

What advice would you give to another parent trying to juggle being a parent and following their career dreams?

My advice would be that it’s all possible as long as you can balance the parenting side – whether that’s with support or whatever you need. If you can nail that part, then
you can motor through.
You really have to cultivate your relationship with your kids too so that they know they’re truly loved. You don’t want to look back in 5-10 years’ time and feel you didn’t do that part right, because you can’t go back and fix it.
So when I’ve had a busy week, I’ll make space for some real quality time with them, having fun and being silly with them. It’s not about grand gestures and spending lots of money on them, although of course, I do that from time to time as well, but the main thing is about valuing the time that we have
together. We love having movie nights when I’m not working, just the three of us sat on the sofa together. I think these are the times to really cherish.
I also think it’s really important to be easy on yourself too. To forgive yourself when you don’t get things quite right, and I’m probably not always great at that myself,
but I’m getting better at it and realising I’m only human: there’s only so much that I can do.
Your energy is really precious and it has to move in a millions directions every day – so many people need something from you. There are so many different elements you’re juggling all the time and you can’t get it all right. So, it’s really important to remind yourself of that.
And finally, just be proud of yourself, because it’s so hard to juggle all the things parents have to do, you have to really back yourself and tell yourself that you’re doing ok, and it’s all good. I’m a self-confessed super woman and I’m proud of it. You have to be as kind to yourself as you would be to your best friend.

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