Can New Zealand be the first team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup?

Dame Sarai Bareman is one of the most powerful and influential women in world sport.  

She has been FIFA’s chief women’s football officer since 2016 when the role was first created. 

Her mandate included doubling the sport's global female player base from 30 million to 60 million and she's ultimately responsible for all levels of the game – from grassroots through to elite international competition across 200+ countries.

It’s quite a big gig.

This episode was pretty special, and after making it to the end you'll be able to see why Sarai holds the position she does.

It was recorded on the morning of the Women’s World Cup semi final between Spain and Sweden held at Eden Park in front of over 43,000 football fans.

Seamus has a personal connection with Sarai and that dynamic plays out early and from that point you can tell there are no “FIFA” talking points in the conversation, it’s Sarai Bareman as you’ve never heard her before.

We talk about her relationship with her brother UFC coach Eugene Bareman and their humble beginnings and how she worked her way up from a bank teller in West Auckland to the biggest job in women’s football via Samoa.

Along the way we delve into topics of inclusion, misogyny and abuse that she encountered along the way, and get a look into corruption and all the best ‘pinch yourself’ moments from her epic rise to the top table in world football. 

We also get a behind the scenes glimpse at how big an event the Women’s World Cup is, and the chaos and stress caused by the Auckland shootings on the morning of the opening match in New Zealand.

Sarai is sharp, articulate, empathetic, and perhaps most importantly, authentic.

And she’s since became a Dame for services to football governance in the 2024 New Years honours.

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