New PhD Research to Focus on Anti-racism Interventions in Australian sport

We are delighted to officially welcome Jamal Elsheikh A. to the cohort of talented, interdisciplinary graduate researchers supported by Melbourne Social Equity Institute.

Jamal is a highly experienced educator and social entrepreneur whose work sits at the intersection of sport and anti-racism. In 2024, his work leading the sports-based racial literacy program Reflect Forward was recognised by the Australian of the Year Awards, where he was a finalist in the Victorian Local Hero category.

Through his PhD research, Jamal will focus on how lasting change to address and combat racism can be achieved within Australian sporting codes. Drawing on Critical Race Theory, which examines how social structures, not just individual prejudices, maintain racial inequities, Jamal's research aims to develop principles that enable sporting organisations, as well as other Australian institutions, to move beyond symbolic gestures and embed anti-racism in their structures and practices.

Jamal's PhD will be supervised by Professor Karen Farquharson from the School of Social and Political Sciences, Professor Karen Block from the Nossal Institute of Global Health and Victoria University's Professor Ramón Spaaij.

Below, Jamal tells us more about his experience, research and the issues that motivate him.

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Thesis title:  How are Anti-racism Interventions Operationalised Across Different Levels of Australian Sport?

Prior to commencing your PhD, what were you doing?

Before commencing my PhD, I completed a Master of Studies in Social Innovation at the University of Cambridge (2024-2026), where my research explored the role of players’ unions in advancing anti-racism through professional football. Alongside my studies, I continued leading Reflect Forward and One Love Australia, working with schools, sporting organisations, community groups, and state and federal governments to develop practical approaches to preventing racism and supporting effective early intervention.

What drew you to start a PhD on this topic?

Over the past decade, I’ve worked with hundreds of schools, sporting organisations, and community partners on anti-racism initiatives. Through that work, I’ve become increasingly interested in what happens after an intervention is delivered. How do organisations build on the momentum? What helps sustain change? How can anti-racism become part of everyday practice rather than a one-off initiative? This PhD is an opportunity to explore those questions by bringing together my experience as a practitioner with academic research.

What outcomes are you hoping to achieve?

I hope this research helps bridge the gap between theory and practice by generating practical insights that support organisations to design, implement, and strengthen anti-racism initiatives. More broadly, I hope it contributes to broader anti-racism efforts, not only across sport but across Australia and internationally.