The Omani football nerd who went from player to pundit
Rumaitha Al Busaidi has commentated on international football for over ten years but when she was younger she had to lie about playing football because her family didn't approve.
Rumaitha Al Busaidi is credited with being the first female football analyst in the Arab world, but she started as a footballer in the first national women's team of Oman. When their funding was cut, the team refused to give up and took to the radio where Rumaitha confronted callers who told her women didn't have a place in football. Determined to prove them wrong, she turned that experience into a career as a commentator and after a bet with her grandfather Rumaitha's persistence even led her to trek across the South Pole.
Picture: Rumaitha Al Busaidi
Credit: Courtesy of Rumaitha Al Busaidi
Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
Producer: Troy Holmes and Sarah Kendal
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Podcast
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The Outlook Podcast Archive
True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives
