Latest news with #Emina
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘We work hard and have a plan': meet the team who have won their league 23 times in a row
There are many types of champions. Some win the league just as a one-off. There are those who enjoy periods of sustained success as well as the relentless winners who establish a long-term stranglehold on the silverware in their country. The next level up is the peerless teams who sustain it for a decade or so. Finally, in an entire category of their own, we have SFK 2000 Sarajevo. The Bosnia and Herzegovina women's champions recently extended their own world record by lifting their 23rd (!) consecutive title, continuing a streak that began before nearly half of their current squad were even born. Advertisement On 21 May they added the Bosnian Cup, lifting it for 21st time this century, with a 1-0 victory over their nearest challengers Emina, and speaking to the Guardian before that cup success, trying to explain their dominance in the league, Sarajevo's secretary general, Azra Numanovic, said: 'I can't even describe it any more. We are changing the perspective towards women's football in Bosnia and in this region, because if you see our results, we're the most successful football club in Bosnia. Not women's football club, the most successful football club. 'I think the biggest question is, 'how do we do it psychologically, to motivate our players to do it from year to year?' Everyone says 'the league in Bosnia, the quality is not so high and so you do it easily' but actually no, that's not true, because we are human – we work so hard, we have our strategic plan, our tactics, our mentality, that we from year-to-year manage to be the best. 'The key point is we have our head coach, Samira Hurem, who is, at the same time, the president of this club. She formed this club in the year 2000 and she's the one who's been leading us since day one. Her vision, her energy is something that has been transferred to all of us younger ones.' Hurem is, like Numanovic, a former player for both SFK 2000 Sarajevo and the Bosnia and Herzegovina women's national team. This year their team won the title by a 21-point margin, but spare a thought for second-place Emina, who have finished as the runners-up for a sixth consecutive campaign. Advertisement 'We have really good matches with them,' Numanovic says, of their rivalry. 'They're trying hard and it's good for us to have teams like that so we play better games because the rest of the league is really not that good, and then you don't have those kind of quality matches and then when the Champions League comes you have to play more defensively and it's really hard to switch over, so we're actually very happy to have Emina.' Naturally, amid such domestic dominance, it is in the Women's Champions League where Sarajevo face their toughest games each season. This season, they beat the Faroe Islands-based club KÍ Klaksvík Kvinnur in the first round of qualifying before being knocked out by Benfica. They have claimed some sizable scalps over the years, including beating Cardiff City 3-0 in 2013, but they have progressed through the qualifying rounds just four times, most recently in 2019, when they were eliminated by Chelsea in the round of 32, before the existing main-draw group-stage format was introduced. 'We try in our preparation period to have good friendly matches with the champions of Serbia and Montenegro who are pretty similar to us,' Numanovic says of the gap between domestic and European football. 'There was an idea to establish a regional league. The best teams from Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia would play each other, because all of us need to overcome this gap. All of us have the same problem. 'It [creating such a regional competition] is not easy because the biggest problem we have is how to finance it. We already had many meetings and everyone would be happy to do it, but we still cannot overcome the financial burden. What's interesting here is, for example, our men's colleagues in all of these countries could never organise that, because of security reasons. It is impossible. Imagine Sarajevo v Dinamo Zagreb? That would be a mess – but when we play each other it's a super happy, positive match, so we have overcome the political situation with women's football. It's a super beautiful atmosphere. Now we need a shift to more investment in women's football to see the potential in it, to make some of these projects come alive.' Advertisement There is at least a new competition that has been introduced by Uefa, but it is Europe-wide. Bosnia and Herzegovina are ranked 25th in Uefa women's coefficient list but now have an extra incentive to improve their standing – from 24th place upwards, countries start to receive a spot in the new Women's Europa Cup competition from the 2025-26 campaign, meaning Emina have narrowly missed out this time, but Numanovic is enthusiastically welcoming that new competition as a means to grow the women's game around the entire continent. 'This is a big step forward,' she says. 'It will help a lot of teams. More teams will get access to Uefa competitions to work on their development so this will help a lot. We are close to having two teams – it will be amazing if Emina also gets to play in Europe and develop themselves, and it will also push the other teams here to also develop.' Numanovic, who started playing for Sarajevo at 14 in 2004, was a defensive midfielder who could also play at full-back, and although she hung up her boots three years ago, she has never been more active in the sport, having working in administration for the past 17 years, initially just to help the club out. She has spent 10 years working with the European Club Association, where she is now a board member, and she wants more women to have chances to get involved in running the sport. 'Another key reason why we [Sarajevo] are successful is most of our administration staff are former players of the club – we give everyone a chance to learn if they want to stay in the club. When you were a player and you remain to be a fighter on the administration field as well, you know what a player needs.' They are already in the Guinness book of World Records but, with that ethos, they intend to remain on top in Bosnia and Herzegovina for many more years to come. Talking points Major blow: The Tottenham defender Ella Morris has sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in her right knee during training with England after she received her first senior international call-up. She wrote on the social media platform X: 'From the highest high to the lowest low. Devastated doesn't even come close. So grateful for the incredible people around me. ACL round 2 – let's go.' Advertisement Cutting it fine: The match venues for July's Women's Africa Cup of Nations, being hosted in Morocco a year later than originally planned, have finally been announced. The stadiums will include the Olympic Stadium in Rabat and Casablanca's Larbi Zaouli Stadium, among four other venues. An official fixture list is still yet to be released. Recommended listening Champions of Europe. Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Tim Stillman and Sophie Downey to reflect on Arsenal's historic Champions League victory. There is also a chat with Adrian Jacob, head of football at World Sevens Football, about the inaugural tournament in Portugal. Listen here Recommended viewing You can watch SFK 2000 Sarajevo clinch their latest domestic double in the Cup final against Emina, with Lili Jones-Baidoe heading in the only goal in the 37th minute. Quote of the day 'I had hoped that Mary would play an important role within the squad this summer, so of course I am disappointed. Mary has been clear on her reasons why she has made the decision and it is something we need to accept.' The England head coach, Sarina Wiegman, reacts to Mary Earps' decision to retire from international football. Still want more? What is your favourite Mary Earps moment? The dancing on the table? The swearing? Taking on Nike? Suzanne Wrack pays tribute to a player who elevated the game in England to another level. Advertisement The interim Matildas coach, Tom Sermanni, has hit out at the A-League Women for 'gross' underinvestment. 'We need a complete rethink,' he says. Tom Garry tracks the steps – from Linköping to Lisbon – that made Stina Blackstenius an Arsenal icon. Her former coaches are not surprised. The Guardian has exclusively revealed that the FA and the England players have agreed a bonus package that would see the squad receive up to £1.7m if they defend their Euro title this summer. And yes, it is already that time of the year. Sarah Rendell has already inputted more than 150 transfers into our transfer interactive, and this year we have added the NWSL as well. Take a look here.
SBS Australia
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- SBS Australia
Young voters hold the power this election. These are the people they listen to
Influencers, musicians and podcasters are becoming more involved with politics. Source: SBS News Influencers were once confined to the squares on our social media pages and not considered serious players in the media industry, but as their power grows — so does their range. Once associated with fashion, makeup and lighthearted lifestyle videos, Australians are also increasingly turning to them for their views on more serious issues. It's a trend that politicians have also noticed. This year, for the first time, some influencers were flown to Canberra to cover the federal budget — an event that is typically the domain of political journalists and finance experts. Coverage of the budget was transformed at the hands of content creators like mental health advocate Milly Rose Bannister, Cheek media co-founder Hannah Ferguson and podcast host Daphne Berry. Rather than writing articles about the budget, they posted TikTok videos and Instagram reels, and shared information with their followers via Instagram stories. In the lead up to , many are encouraging their followers to engage with politics and policy — and it's working. Brisbane woman Emina is 29 years old and has never been interested in politics, but after following influencer and podcast host Abbie Chatfield, she was motivated to update her voting details and keep up to date with this year's election. Chatfield first gained a public profile after appearing on TV show The Bachelor and is now a podcast host and media personality. In the lead-up to the election, Chatfield has interviewed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Greens leader Adam Bandt, hosted a DJ event with Bandt and the Greens, and made regular posts about the election and policies. "I've followed Abby since she was on The Bachelor, and she's always been really opinionated and I love her for that," Emina said. "I've always found her to be making it engaging and bringing to the surface the things that are often not spoken about enough." Emina said she believes influencers speaking about politics can be empowering and educational for their followers. While Chatfield has openly said she personally supports the Greens, Emina said she hasn't felt pressured to vote the same way. "I haven't found Abbie to be forceful to tell me who to vote for, so that's also something that I've really respected … her message has been one of empowerment," she said. For Holly Rankin, who also performs as a singer-songwriter and recording artist under the name Jack River, pop culture and policy have always been linked. Alongside her professional music career, Rankin has been involved in campaigns and activism for years. She is also the co-founder of Sentiment, a strategic communications and creative agency that aims to bridge the gap between politics and pop culture. Rankin believes online content creators are often not taken seriously by older generations or traditional media and argues the term 'influencer' can be used to denigrate or dismiss their work and advocacy. "At the end of the day, they're likely very good communicators who are passionate about something and they've grown an online community who have shared values with them," she said. This election, Rankin believes young voters and social media are becoming more powerful. According to a 2024 report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, 46 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds nominated social media as their main source of news, and 31 per cent said celebrities and influencers were sources of their news content. "The voting electorate is younger, and I think the world is in a really kind of frightening spot for a lot of younger people, so it's inspiring them to lean into politics," she said. "Content creators are seeing not even an opportunity, more like a responsibility, to jump in and be part of the conversation." With the election predicted to be close, Rankin said young voters could be the people who decide the results, particularly in marginal seats. "So it's really important that they get good information and that they engage and also just learn about civics and politics," she said. "If they're not getting it [from] politicians themselves, if they're not reading the news, how else are they going to get this information?" With millennials and gen Z voters now outnumbering baby boomers on the electoral roll, appealing to younger voters is becoming increasingly important to political parties. According to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), there are 1,831,800 voters aged 18 to 24 enrolled for the 2025 election. The youth enrolment rate, which tracks eligible voters in this age group, is sitting at 92 per cent. Dr Susan Grantham, a lecturer in communication at Griffith University, believes social media has become "absolutely essential" in politics. On platforms like Instagram and TikTok, Grantham said influencers have a "stronger hold over the audience" and may have more sway than posts made by candidates or political parties, which politicians are starting to realise. "There's always been influencers out there that have been politically aligned and have promoted politics during election campaigns previously," she said. But she said this election, political parties and leaders were now doing joint posts and podcasts with influencers. "That's going to be highly influential and far more influential than what we would expect from a politician directly," Grantham said. Hannah Ferguson, founder and CEO of news commentary platform Cheek Media, told SBS News she believes political parties are beginning to recognise the power of social media and podcasts in driving change. "A lot of influencers — and I say 'influencer' but content creators and new media — have really powerful engagement with their audience who may not know that much about politics," she said. "Our ability to communicate directly with our audiences about the issues that matter to them is far more engaged and far more relevant than large parts of legacy media." Ferguson also believes young audiences have an increased expectation that influencers or people with public profiles should be engaged in politics and social issues. She said there is now a "newfound interest and demand" for content creators to make their values clear, with many viewers preferring to "invest time and trust into the people that they see as resonating with them". "We expect the people that we look up to, the celebrities, the influencers, the people with public presences — to have political opinions and to talk about these things because we are very much a values-driven generation," she said. "And we are the most powerful voting bloc in Australia in the lead up to the federal election." Fellow content creator Daphne Berry said she believes many young voters turn to new media platforms for more relatable discussions about politics. Berry, who hosts the music podcast Airing Your Dirty Laundry, told SBS News her platform is "about learning". "I'm completely out of my depth in a lot of ways, but [I try] to come in and really learn and really listen to people who perhaps know a bit more than I do and ask questions," she said. "[I then] explain it to people who ... don't fully understand what's going on in the country." Not everyone is on board with new media and influencers becoming involved in politics When content creators were invited to the federal Budget lockup in March, critics labelled the influencers as "self-obsessed" and questioned whether they were paid to attend. Clips of Chatfield's interviews with Bandt and Albanese were reviewed by the AEC after Liberal senator Jane Hume questioned if they had breached electoral rules by not including an authorisation statement. The posts were cleared of breaching any laws, with the AEC finding no evidence the podcaster had been paid for any political posts, or that Albanese or Bandt had any creative control in the interviews. In a post on Instagram, Chatfield accused the Liberal Party of trying to discredit influencers speaking on politics. "I'm all for the AEC making sure that everything goes by regulations [so] that we have safe and fair elections," she said. "But the reality is there was no reason to question the integrity of my posts because I repeatedly stated publicly that I was not paid." Chatfield said she believed the Liberal Party was trying to "minimise the impact of influencers and new media" and discourage content creators from speaking about politics. According to Grantham, new media and influencers largely play a positive role in politics and education, but she acknowledged it is a "tricky space". "We have to be careful that we don't let the traditional news media die; it still has a very solid place in politics," she said. "What we do see is influencers taking on a similar role, and some of them are doing that very, very well, but they don't have to work to the same ethical codes or media law that go along with this sort of public commentary." Grantham believes young people need to be taught how to question what they see and to think critically about social media and political commentary. "But until we as a society are really good at doing that, there's obviously always going to be potential negatives," she said. In a time of climate crisis, conflict, and global uncertainty, Rankin believes young voters and social media can ultimately play a part in creating a better future. "I feel critically concerned [about the future], but I know we can write a new story. "I feel optimistic, but there is a lot of work to do." Visit the to access articles, podcasts and videos from SBS News, NITV and our teams covering more than 60 languages.
