#27 Samantha Lewis on the Art of Football Writing & Epic World Cup Journeys

Freo de Janeiro

On this edition, we are joined by Samantha Lewis (She/They). Samantha is a Digital Sports Journalist at the ABC who specialises in Australian women's football and women's football more broadly, covering all aspects of the sport from grassroots to the international level, including Olympic Games and World Cups, with a particular love of history, profiles, and long-form feature writing. Samantha’s work has been published by The Guardian, ESPN, Optus Sport, and SBS - The World Game (among others), and has been recognised by organisations such as The International Sports Press Association (AIPS). Gadigal land is where Samantha lives and works. Samantha is one of my favourite football writers on the planet, covering topics that cut to the core of Australian and world football, doing so in such a creative and emotive way, that certainly captures the feeling of a moment. I invited Samantha to the show before the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but because of our schedules, we couldn’t make it happen. This was actually a blessing in disguise because we were able to both use this conversation to decompress from the world cup. For both of us and it was healing and cathartic to revisit the emotions. Samantha produced some incredible, award winning work during the tournament so it is really wonderful to go back there again and have the hindsight of some time to reflect. I hope it helps you recount some great world cup memories and gives you a further appreciation for the work behind the scenes in crafting the words that you read in an article from great journalists. Thank you immensely to Samantha for being so candid and open in this conversation. This show couldn’t be where it is without your support so please give me a review or subscribe to help support Freo de Janeiro’s storytelling. Enjoy this conversation with Samantha Lewis, one of the great football writers and advocates of the game.