What They're Saying

"Shireen is a powerful speaker and writer. Her written pieces ooze authenticity and resonate meaningfully, requiring us to reflect on our own mindsets and practices to improve the way in which we work and relate to the world." - Dr. Rimla Akhtar, Chair of the Muslim Women's Sports Foundation

"Shireen Ahmed’s sharp, insightful, and studied analysis of sports and politics is matched only by her passion for the games — when she has something to say about the meaning of sports in our world, do yourself a favor and listen." - Dr. Amy Bass, Professor of History/Honors Program Director, The College of New Rochelle

“Shireen delivers unique and insightful perspectives on inclusion and diversity for women in sport. She has become an important voice for progress, and an influencer for change around the globe.” - Moya Dodd, Footballer, Lawyer, Executive Committee Member of the Asian Football Confederation, Former FIFA Executive

"Shireen Ahmed is a force to be reckoned with in sports media: she's critical, constructive, and wicked smart. Her sharp analysis and unique voice have enriched the field of sports journalism and beyond." - Dr. Brenda Elsey, Associate Professor of History at Hofstra University

"Shireen Ahmed is my favourite sports journalist. She’s an incredible Canadian woman who co-hosts a podcast called Burn It All Down, the feminist sports podcast you need. Discovering the podcast was a game-changer for me. As a woman growing up in a man’s game, where everything from the professional game to the media that covers it is so heavily gendered, finding Shireen Ahmed and Burn It All Down was a breath of fresh air. I’ve employed a new rule of limiting the amount of football-related content I consume that’s generated by white, straight, cis-gendered men and it’s been a great form of self-care! Shireen also writes about Islamic politics and always offers an intersectional approach to sport, the media and football more specifically. It’s important for me to constantly engage with this as a white-woman working in football, keep learning and interrogating and deconstructing the norms that have been established in football. Shireen Ahmed and the other Burn It All Down hosts are what I would have loved to listen to growing up, so the fact that girls and women can access that sort of discussion really pleases me. We just need more of it – there’s still a long way to go." - Ceylon Hickman, Head of Volunteering and Social Action at Football Beyond Borders

"Shireen Ahmed is an insightful thinker, beautiful writer, and a presenter who gets her ideas across with wit, cleverness, and smart powerpoints. I feel lucky that I have gotten to speak alongside her and to co-host a podcast with her." - Jessica Luther, President of the Shireen Ahmed Fan Club

"Shireen is an incredible voice in sport - thoughtful, funny, radical and adaptable. A great speaker and very good writer, this lady tells it like few others do. We need more Shireens, in the meantime she represents with aplomb." - Piara Powar, Executive Director of the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network

"From the second you hear her speak, or read her writing, Shireen's urgency and passion for sports to be a place that's welcoming and uplifting is easily detectable. Few people are all over the stories you may not know, but need to know, as Shireen is." - Shane Thomas, Writer

"Shireen's insistence on justice for humans, and her belief that such justice will occur only when members of marginalized groups are given a voice, is what makes her such a powerful speaker, writer, and advocate. She is who I turn to when I want a compelling piece about a subject few others are willing to write about." - Kirsten Schlewitz, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Unusual Efforts

"I have learned so much from the work of Shireen Ahmed. Her lyricism and love of sports, crossed with a passion for social justice makes her one of the true cutting edge sports journalists of the 21st century." - Dave Zirin, Sports Editor, The Nation