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You can say that Eden Ghebresellassie epitomises the diversity which the FIFA Master is known for. American, born and raised in Italy, to Eritrean parents, Eden holds not only three different nationalities, but also a multifaceted global view of our world.

When deciding her major in college, Eden picked International Relations because she specifically wanted to pursue a career in the United Nations. However, due to a series of events, right after graduation she ended up in New York City, working at Rolling Stone Magazine. “That was my first introduction to the entertainment world”, she recalls. “Once I realised how interesting the entertainment world was to work in, and that I had innate skills for it, I understood that my personal interest for sport could also become a full-time business for me”. Hence, she applied for the FIFA Master. Ironically, once she graduated from the masters, she went back to New York to work at the UNDP – the United Nations Development Programme.

After that, Eden had spells at the Street Soccer USA and the New York Cosmos football club, a team made internationally famous in the 1970’s when they had the Brazilian legend Pelé as their star player. “it was great to be able to work for a team, at a much faster pace than any other company I had ever worked for”, she says. That experience and exposure to different sides of the entertainment and sport business led Eden to ESPN, where she stayed for almost 9 years – more recently as Global Creative Strategy Lead.”

Now Eden is taking a break while she figuring out what she would like to do next. “I want to be sure that my next endeavour in sports and entertainment will have a global impact”, she explains. In 2020 she has been named one of the 100 women of excellence by OkayAfrica, a platform that connects a global audience to African culture. See more of Eden’s interview:

FMA Quarterly: You recently had impressive participations at 2 webinars organised by CIES discussing racism in sport. How hopeful are you that things will get better?

Eden Ghebresellassie: Thank you! It was my pleasure to participate in the webinars as I am a strong believer that progress can only come from having open, honest and uncomfortable dialogue. I am not sure “hopeful” is the right word as I believe there is so much work to do - it is very difficult to bring change, when it feels like I am speaking ‘at’ people and not ‘with’ them - but my resilience comes from the few people that have come forward, set aside their fears and discomfort and allowed me to have a progressive discourse...I can only ‘hope’ for those moments to happen more often. Change, can and will happen only once people start coming together and want to genuinely learn.

FMAQ: How relevant is sport in the fight against racism?

EG: I strongly believe that sport is ‘vital’ for the fight against racism and to be honest, I would rather call it ‘journey to equality’ and not ‘fight against racism’ - if we took away politics from the equation and simply agreed that no one should be systematically kept behind and treated unfairly or killed for being non-white, I think change would come way faster. In regards to sports, its beauty is that it has the invisible mission statement that sport is where athletes make and give us magic by being all equal on the field. If the business of sport behaved and functioned in the same way…

FMAQ: How important was the FIFA Master for your career?

EG: The FIFA Master was an experience that truly changed my life in many ways. Being introduced to and living under the same roof as so many different and beautiful cultures/languages/traditions was a very special experience. Also, having FIFA Master on the CV is a great “door opener” too.

FMAQ: Many candidates join the FIFA Master hoping to one day do what you do. Do you have any advice for the current students of the FIFA Master?

EG: My best advice would be: stay focused, believe in what you are doing and mostly educate yourself deeply and properly in any aspect of the industry that you are interested in - networking doesn’t hurt either but try to be genuine and consistent when reaching out to people.

killed for being non-white, I think change would come way faster. In regards to sports, its beauty is that it has the invisible mission statement that sport is where athletes make and give us magic by being all equal on the field. If the business of sport behaved and functioned in the same way…

FMAQ: How important was the FIFA Master for your career?

EG: The FIFA Master was an experience that truly changed my life in many ways. Being introduced to and living under the same roof as so many different and beautiful cultures/languages/traditions was a very special experience. Also, having FIFA Master on the CV is a great “door opener” too.

FMAQ: Many candidates join the FIFA Master hoping to one day do what you do. Do you have any advice for the current students of the FIFA Master?

EG: My best advice would be: stay focused, believe in what you are doing and mostly educate yourself deeply and properly in any aspect of the industry that you are interested in - networking doesn’t hurt either but try to be genuine and consistent when reaching out to people.

SHORT PROFILE

Eden Ghebresellassie, Eritrean, Italian and American

Global Creative Strategist, formerly at ESPN

FIFA Master Class: 2009 

Favourite sport: to watch: soccer/football, basketball and tennis - to play: volleyball and swimming

Favourite team: AC Milan, plus any African team during the World Cup

Favourite sport’s personality: Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams, Mohammed Ali

Favourite sport’s moment: When Balotelli scored the winning goal during the Euro Cup and the whole team went to hug him.