Amal Fashanu is a presenter, journalist, fashion designer and activist against homophobia in sport. She produced a

BBC3 BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

documentary ''Britain’s Gay Footballers.'' She is the founder and CEO of the

Justin Fashanu Justinus Soni "Justin" Fashanu ( ; 19 February 1961 – 2 May 1998) was an English footballer who played for a variety of clubs between 1978 and 1997. He was known by his early clubs to be gay, and came out publicly later in his career, beco ...

Foundation, as well as Black Heart Label, a clothing brand designed to promote activism through fashion, and Amal Fashanu Handbags. In 2012, Fashanu was a contributor to David Cameron's summit on discrimination in sport.

Biography

Fashanu is the daughter of former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

John Fashanu and Spanish model Marisol Acuna. She attended St Christina's School in London, before moving to Madrid in 1999 to study at

Runnymede College Runnymede College is a co-educational independent school located in La Moraleja, Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1967 by Arthur Powell CBE as the first British school in Spain. It is a private non-denominational school offering a British educat ...

. In 2006 she began her studies at

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

in London, receiving a BASc in Communications and Media Studies. Fashanu has a master's degree in handbag design from IED University in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Whilst at university, Fashanu had a successful career as a model, notably modelling alongside

Professor Green Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London. Growing up on ...

for

Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

in FHM. In 2012, Fashanu's BBC 3 Documentary ''Britain’s Gay Footballers'' was released to critical acclaim. Following the suicide of her uncle

, Britain's first black £1m footballer who was also openly gay, the film explored homophobia and discrimination within the football world. The documentary was nominated for numerous awards, including a British Broadcasting Award in 2013. Her second documentary ''The Batman Shootings'' (2012) covered the massacre in a US cinema in which 12 people were killed by a lone shooter whilst watching The Dark Knight Rises. Her third, ''Find A Home For My Brother'' (2015) explored the care provisions that are in place for young people with learning disabilities in the UK and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. In 2012, Fashanu was invited by then British Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

to a summit on discrimination in football at Downing Street. Following this meeting, she was inspired to create her fashion label, Black Heart Label, which combines activism and fashion to promote equality. This line is dedicated to Justin Fashanu. After undertaking an MA in handbag design from IED University, Fashanu created Amal Fashanu Handbags. The brand creates luxury handbags and accessories whilst promoting small businesses. Fashanu works as a journalist and has reported for

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, BBC Radio, talkSPORT,

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

, Sky Sport,

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Fashanu and her father set up the Justin Fashanu Foundation to eliminate prejudice and tackle homophobia in sport.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fashanu, Amal English women journalists English fashion designers English LGBT rights activists Alumni of Brunel University London Living people Sexual orientation and sports English people of Nigerian descent English people of Guyanese descent English people of Spanish descent Year of birth missing (living people) British women fashion designers