Sonia Randev is an influential voice within British basketball - and she’s had to fight tooth and nail to earn her place in the profession she loves.
She has battled for her role in boxing and basketball, working as a marketing and public relations professional as CEO of Slick Sports Consultancy. Randev works alongside brands such as Puma, Nike and Under Armour as she works just as hard for her clients as she did for herself.
It was not an easy path for Randev. Her South Asian heritage meant working in a male-dominated sporting industry was difficult, but she has been powered by her inspiring passion that stems all the way from her childhood.
“I was quite sporty as a young girl,” Randev told Mirror Sport. “I was the fastest girl in my year when I did track and field, and I used to play basketball. I got chosen to represent my tutor group playing basketball against some of the best players around, and I used to have a play about with a couple of kids in my park. I’ve always loved basketball.”
Her adoration for basketball is clear whether you meet her in person or scroll through her social media pages. Randev studied hard to achieve a first-class honours degree in Journalism, which she then utilised to work in regional and national press before following her dream in sports agency.
Randev has not looked back, and is aware of her unique pioneering status. She revealed: “I've had these conversations with some of the players before; they’ve told me they have never had an Asian woman help them within the league. To be a woman of colour within the sport representing, it’s so important for the next generation to see. I want all females, not just Asian, to see me and think if she can do it, I can do it.
“Women, particularly those from ethnic diverse backgrounds, should get more involved in school - there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m super proud of my path because there hasn’t been an agent who has done what I’ve done.”
Randev wants women in sports - particularly on the male side - to be far more ordinary rather than something so unique it warrants articles in newspapers. She desperately wants this to be the case in basketball, which continues to grow in the United Kingdom at an exceptional rate following investment from 777 Partners and the European runs of the London Lions men and women teams.
However, she understands the challenge ahead - and Randev called on everyone in the industry to make the women’s game more visible as it will only lead to positive outcomes, particularly an increased opening of doors for roles within the sport.
“I’m really disappointed in the lack of media coverage across the board because of what the London Lions girls achieved,” Randev said of the Lions who went undefeated domestically and embarked on a EuroCup run last season. “I was actually going to do some work with girls because they saw what I was doing with the boys, but I haven't obviously had the chance to kind of work with them as much as I'd like to. I am going to make that a focus point for leadership, because I appreciate every club has their own media officer but players should have an emotional compass outside.
“Opportunities need to be created in basketball to encourage females. As the sport develops here, there’s going to a growing audience - a female community made up of all kinds of backgrounds - so lets push the women’s game out there. Let’s encourage more women to participate in this exciting growth of basketball, and I want to be a part of it.
“Maybe it’s too dreamy but I’d like to see more women in the crowd, more women given General Manager roles - like Vanja Cervinec at the Lions - and I’d love to see a female head coach in the men’s game.”
She began working in boxing, raising the profile of female fighters and urging other South Asian women to follow her path into professions that may be considered difficult to crack. However, she always wanted to work in basketball but the lack of money circulating around the sport on these shores has meant Randev has often generously committed her time and effort to players for free.
“It’s difficult because there has been no investment in British basketball,” Randev despairs. “I had done a lot of help for free just to help raise players’ profile, and then lockdown came and nobody knew what was going to happen. I became good friends with Justin Robinson and it just kicked off from there as he was playing for the Lions.
“The Mirror did a few pieces, Justin had a column in the Daily Star - and all these other basketball players started to take notice of what I was doing. I have to thank him for that, especially after all we’ve gone through! We’ve had our ups and downs but we’re in a great place. He’s a real role model. Let’s put it out there: he was BBL MVP two seasons in a row.
“But the fact he’s a family man with a young family and always interacting with local councils? He’s never forgotten where he came from. Justin is a great person who could potentially be a great coach, a great manager and inspire the next generation.”
When discussing her role in developing players’ marketability, Randev - who encourages players to think about their futures as well as their present career - added: “I do a lot of brand partnership and paid social partnerships. I started seeing things differently and realising there was a space. Justin became the first British basketball player to go on talkSPORT radio in-studio, but I got others on there like Matthew Bryan-Amaning. I take credit for that.”
She absolutely should take credit for her work, particularly after successfully forging an unlikely career out of her passion. Like the boxers she works with, Randev is a fighter - her grit and determination when it comes to the ring and the court is unrivalled and, frankly, inspirational.
