TV broadcaster and proud Brummie, Qasa Alom, talks about his love of tennis, presenting at this month’s Birmingham Open championship, and why getting to work in his home-town is a such privilege
Despite a broadcasting career that has featured a huge range of highlights, from presenting world-class sport to championing the environment and exposing sex trafficking gangs, Qasa Alom says he is especially looking forward to working in his home-town this month when he will once again be the host and MC for the Lexus Birmingham Opening tennis championship at Edgbaston Priory. A huge fan of tennis and no mean player himself, we caught up with the talented journalist just before the tournament featuring top British and international stars got underway.
Qasa explained: “I don’t get to work in Birmingham much so it’s a real privilege. There’s nowhere like home and the Birmingham Open is a top-class event with an amazing atmosphere and traditional pristine lawns. And because it’s in Birmingham you get a diverse audience. So many Brummies come from somewhere else in the world and they come up to me and say they love seeing me working on the tennis.”
FEAST OF TENNIS
A few weeks after his stint at Edgbaston Priory, Qasa will be switching his attention to that ‘other’ great feast of tennis when he presents the BBC’s iconic Today at Wimbledon programme. He says: “I am passionate about tennis. It’s a brilliant sport. One of those sports that you learn a lot about yourself. If you’re losing or something’s not working, you have to figure it out. It’s mental as well as physical.”
He adds: “My job in Birmingham is to ensure people enjoy the day. The working day is long. I do a quick work out first thing. Head to the Priory at 9am to research and make notes. Matches are from 11am, and at about 10.30 I head out get among the crowds. I think when people pay to go to an event there’s an excitement, a child-like energy. I like to share in that and mix with people. During matches I introduce players letting the people in the crowd know what’s going on. Then after the action there’s the amazing courtside interviews.”
TEENAGE OBSESSION
Qasa is British-Bangladeshi from the city’s inner centre. He went to King Edward VI Grammar School and says he has always been obsessed with TV and radio, first working with the BBC when he was just 15-years-old. He helped write and star in a short film called Obsession which he then reported about on for BBC Newsround. He began a full-time career in local radio and made a series on Stoke-on-Trent’s illegal sex trade which earned him the prestigious Gillard Award for original journalism and radio reporter of the year at the Midlands Media Awards. Qasa has been a regular TV newsreader on Midlands Today’s breakfast and lunchtime programmes and presented a debut half-hour documentary for BBC1 called The Books that Built Britain: Factories to Middle Earth in 2016. He followed that up with a directing debut about Muslim women in inner-city Birmingham in 2017 called Crossing Birmingham’s Invisible Borders.
In sport, Qasa is comfortable broadcasting on both TV and radio, regularly appearing on BBC Final Score for football, as well as presenting IPL Cricket programmes and hosting at Twickenham rugby. But tennis remains his first love. He says: “The beauty about tennis is there are loads of great players – some cope with the conditions or surfaces better. Some cope with wind, some enjoy grass. This means that the Birmingham Open should be really exciting and really difficult to predict.”
MUM’S SPECIAL CURRY
It’s not all work for Qasa though. He still lives in Birmingham and can often be found on a tennis court or cricket field – and when he gets the chance he never says no to his mum’s ‘special’ chicken curry! Of Birmingham he says: “I’ve always loved its parks. I have memories of the summer holidays, packing a picnic and heading to the Lickey Hills or Cannon Hill. And when I got older, going for long bike rides. The triangle around Edgbaston – Priory, Edgbaston stadium, Cannon Hill is fantastic. And the food scene is brilliant, too. I love Chinatown. I head there for ramen or sushi. Just the best!”