Sylhet's Fuad Abdul-Aziz on the Ballon d'Or Red Carpet: Bangladeshi Creator Interviews Kane and Ronaldo
On October 27, the Palladium Theatre in London hosted football's most glamorous event, the Ballon d'Or ceremony, where English footballer Harry Kane won the award for the first time. On the red carpet of that ceremony was Bangladeshi-origin content creator Fuad Abdul-Aziz, who interviewed Ronaldo Nazario and Harry Kane.
The name Fuad Abdul-Aziz may be new to many, but he is a well-known figure in London’s football community. He is regularly seen on TV and social media channels, or his voice is heard on them.
Fuad was born in Osmaninagar upazila of Sylhet. He moved to London as a child and lives there. After finishing his studies at the University of Sheffield, he joined sports content creation, starting out as a social media manager.
In 2018, he launched his own YouTube channel, "Viper Sports," and came into the spotlight from then on. Although he initially made content about boxing, during the Covid period he turned his full attention to football.
After that, offers began to come in from different places. In the post-Covid period, he worked with organisations such as the BBC, Oh My Goal and DAZN. He currently works with the world-famous football platform "433."
Fuad first came to the attention of Bangladeshis through a video he made about footballer Cuba Mitchell. He had also been following Hamza Choudhury’s game since the time of his rise. Later, he travelled to different parts of the world to watch Bangladesh play, even flying to Malaysia.
With a boom microphone in hand, he has covered the Champions League, the Premier League and La Liga, and from the Arab Cup to the World Cup he has seen the whole football world with a microphone in hand. He is especially seen regularly making content with Premier League teams.
The British channel DAZN gave Fuad the opportunity to attend this year's Ballon d'Or red carpet. He was the presenter of the pre-show programme on the red carpet. Standing alongside transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, he interviewed footballers, and he also got the chance to question Harry Kane.
It was not only interviews: Fuad also kept gifts for the footballers attending the event. From Cucurella, Rodri and Mbappe to Ronaldo Nazario, he handed them London souvenir red bus keyrings.
Fuad’s outfit also carried a touch of Bangladesh. The suit he wore to the Ballon d’Or ceremony had a Bangladesh flag coat pin on it. Wherever Fuad goes, he takes Bangladesh with him.
