Darren Lewis

President

Darren is the Assistant Editor of the Daily Mirror and was named President of the SJA in July 2023. Started out in local news journalism in 1995 before joining the Mirror in 2000 as a football writer, going on to become a columnist for the paper and taking on a senior role on the football desk. Included on Football Black List three times, most recently in 2017, and was appointed to the Football Writers’ Association national committee in September 2018. Promoted to the role of Assistant Editor at the Mirror in September 2020. Long-time contributor to talkSPORT and Premier League Productions, and became regular on the Super Sunday Matchday programme on Sky Sports News in August 2021. More recently, he has taken on the role of Senior Sports Analyst for CNN Sport.

Darren is the successor to Patrick Collins, who stepped down as SJA President in April 2023 after eight years in the role.

Ashley Broadley

Chair

Sports Editor, PA Media. Joined PA Media, the UK and Ireland’s national news agency, in 1999 as a news reporter covering the Yorkshire area. Moved to London and the news desk in 2003 before taking up current role as Sports Editor in 2007. Based at the company’s northern headquarters in Howden, East Yorkshire, he has overseen the coverage of many events including London Olympics in 2012. Also led the development and growth of PA Media’s digital output for sport. Joined the SJA Committee in April 2017 and was appointed Chair in September 2020.

Leon Mann

Vice-chair

More than a decade of experience in sport and media and has worked with some of the world’s most respected companies including BBC and ITV. Has been international spokesperson for football’s anti-racism campaigns Kick It Out and Football Against Racism in Europe. In 2010, founded the Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS). Co-founded the Football Black List in 2008. In 2014, founded the Sports People’s Think Tank (SPTT). Founder and director of Refresh Sports Consultancy and Productions, a company working with clients across the sports industry on content and advising on communications. Joined the SJA Committee in May 2017 and has been Vice-Chair since May 2019.

Nick Powell

Secretary

Sports journalist and presenter who retired from broadcasting in February 2025 after a distinguished 43-year career, including 29 years at Sky Sports and Sky News. Nick is highly regarded for his long tenure as a main anchor on Sky Sports News and as the on-air sports editor for Sky News. Over his career, he won two Royal Television Society Awards and covered some of the most iconic moments in sports.

Nick joined the Committee in June 2026.

Laurie Palacio

Treasurer

Managing director of Tongue Tied Management (TTM). Laurie spent two decades at talkSPORT, where he played a central role in shaping the radio station – working across production, programming, and talent development. From the early days of the network’s rise to mainstream prominence, he helped launch major shows and podcasts, build audience engagement across multiple audio and visual platforms, and nurtured a generation of on-air talent.

In 2023, Laurie made the move into sports representation, becoming MD of TTM. The agency represents a growing roster of high-profile athletes and broadcasters, with a strong emphasis on women’s sport and a global outlook. At TTM, Laurie leads on strategy, partnerships, and commercial growth, bringing his media experience into a new chapter of sports storytelling and talent management.

He has proudly supported the SJA in many of its endeavours, whether as an awards entrant, category winner, judge, and since June 2025, as a committee member.

Kate Anastasi

Committee

Kate is the Managing Editor of Sky Sports News. Previously the Deputy Head of talkSPORT, where she worked her way up from broadcast assistant, she has extensive experience in live broadcast production, working on events such as the British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia in 2013 as well as major tournaments. She also launched talkSPORT’s first-ever apprenticeship scheme and was the co-chair of the News UK Broadcasting Diversity Action Group, and continues to be passionate about improving ED&I in sports broadcasting. She joined the SJA Committee in April 2023.

Louise Beltrame-Bawden

Committee

Louise is the Managing Editor of News and Major Events for Stats Perform News. An experienced senior broadcast journalist with a demonstrated history of working in the broadcast media industry. She joined the SJA Committee in 2022.

Jon Holmes

Committee

Freelance journalist and media consultant, and the founder/lead of Sports Media LGBT+, an industry network, advocacy and consultancy group. Specialist in content related to equality, diversity and inclusion, and workplace culture. Previously a Senior Editor at Sky Sports, Jon is also on the National Committee of the Football Writers’ Association and serves as the Media Officer on the Football v Homophobia campaign. He has been an SJA Committee member since May 2019 and leads on media and comms for the Association.

Mayowa Quadri

Committee

Mayowa is the Head of Brand at VERSUS and a leading contributor to the vanguard of new sports media. Having freelanced at the BBC, Sky Sports, IMG PLP and more, he has taken learnings from established companies and combined them with his own experiences to showcase a new form of journalism. His goal of making the sports content space more diverse and accessible has resulted in the launch of the Blue Creator Fund with Chelsea FC, hosting internships alongside Black In Sport Summit, and being a key voice within the Mercy FC launch backed by Stormzy and adidas. Mayowa joined the SJA Committee in April 2023.

Emma Smith

Committee

Emma has been an SJA member for the last few years and a sports journalist for nearly a decade. She is a journalist for the BBC Sport website, primarily working in written articles, including match reports, features and live blogs. She specialises in football – in particular coverage of the WSL and women’s football – as well as boxing, rugby, cricket and LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport. She previously worked for Goal, Inside The Games and Daily Mail. She joined the Committee in April 2023.

Rachel Steinberg

Committee

Sports reporter at PA Media, covering Crystal Palace and women’s football. A women’s sports specialist with experience of reporting on Olympic and Paralympic sport as well as motorsport. Rachel joined the SJA Committee in 2022.

James Toney

Committee

Managing editor and group director with responsibility for editorial and social media strategy and major event coverage at Beat Media Group, comprising of industry-leading news agencies Sportsbeat, Storybeat and Kennedy News and Media and News Associates, the UK’s largest NCTJ journalism school. Started career in national newspapers as a news reporter and has been highly-commended by the Sports Journalists’ Association and Press Gazette. Regular contributor to radio and television. Book on sports journalism, Inside Track, published in 2013. Sits on the British Olympic Association’s media accreditation advisory committee. Joined the SJA Committee in July 2019.

Howard Wheatcroft

committee

Spent 30 years on the Daily Star sports desk including nearly 17 years as sports editor and a spell as Head of Sport at Express Newspapers. Previously worked at the Stockport Express, Salford City Reporter, Northern Echo and Match magazine. Product of the Thomson Regional Newspapers training scheme. A member of the SJA Committee since 2011.