Undercover heavyweight, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has received a special award for investigative journalism at the inaugural AIPS Sports Media Awards.
The award comes barely week after the killing of one of his partners- Ahmed Hussein-Suale, also investigator with the TigerEye PI agency, who played an integral role in the #Number12 exposé that uncovered corruption in African football, for which Anas received the honours.
Before Anas addressed the audience at the event in Lausanne, Switzerland, last Monday, a minute’s silence was observed in memory of Ahmed Suale.
Anas dedicated the award to Ahmed, and reiterated that despite the unfortunate incident, he and his team remained resolute in their desire to root out corruption in the society saying, “I receive this award in honour of my colleague, Ahmed Hussein. I know that he would have been with me to receive this award, but for the unfortunate incident. If there’s any message that Ahmed would have loved me to give to you all you, it would have been a simple one that we will never surrender because journalism is not a crime.”
Presenting the award, the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) president, Gianni Merlo, described investigative journalism as “one of the tools for our future. We must investigate to keep the sport clean. We need to celebrate our colleagues who are risking their lives.”
Ahmed Hussein-Suale was shot three times on Wednesday evening in a murder that has shocked and drew condemnation from the global media landscape.
He was at the forefront of the meeting with the disgraced GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi, who was the biggest casualty of the exposé.
Aside from his work on #Number12, he has also cooperated with the BBC on some investigative pieces as part of his work with Tiger Eye PI including a perilous investigation into ritual murders in Malawi.
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID), assured it had commenced investigations into the murder.
The International Sports Press Association (AIPS) is the peak professional body representing the international sports media, with more than 9,000 members worldwide, from leading international daily newspapers, websites, periodicals and radio and television channels across five continents.
AIPS was established in Paris, in 1924, as L’Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive, on the eve of the Olympic Games. The AIPS headquarters are based in the Olympic capital Lausanne, Switzerland.
The first Congress was held on July 2nd, 1924, with 29 nations present.
AIPS is recognised by the International Olympic Committee and the main Federations of each sport and country.
The aim of AIPS is to enhance the cooperation between its member associations in defending the independence and the professional interest of members, to strengthen the friendship, solidarity and common interests between sports journalists of all nations and to assure the best possible working conditions for members.
AIPS is an independent organisation, financed through membership fees and the contributions of international bodies and Federations worldwide.
The AIPS Sport Media Awards are the highest international accolade in the sport media industry. The Awards, currently in their first edition, offer recognition to the very best sport storytellers across all media platforms, from photography to video, from print to digital, from podcasts to sports blogs.
Based on the premise that sport is a valuable tool for education and culture, and with a network of 160 countries, AIPS, as the internationally-recognised body for sports journalism, looks to celebrate those professionals who continue to produce the best, most creative content worldwide.
AIPS Sport Media Awards are a celebration of sports media excellence, representing a new, inspiring horizon for sports journalists everywhere. The first edition of the Awards ceremony will be held in Lausanne in January 2019. AIPS will partner with QSPC, the Qatar Sports Press Committee, for the AIPS Sport Media Awards. QSPC is offering broad support to AIPS as part of a shared drive to invest in culture and sport journalism, and purposefully protect and safeguard the integrity of the profession.
