Maya Jama and Mo Farah are shortlisted for prestigious gong at European Diversity Awards

Maya Jama and Sir Mo Farah are amongst the names to have been shortlisted for the prestigious European Diversity Awards.

The presenter, 28, and the Olympic runner, 39, have both been shortlisted for the media diversity champion of the year gong.

Maya has been nominated for her work as an ambassador for charity Savera UK, which tackles culturally-specific abuse in the UK, including forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

Sir Mo has been shortlisted for his work as an anti-trafficking supporter after he recently released his documentary The Real Mo Farah.

In the programme, Sir Mo revealed that he was illegally trafficked into Britain aged nine and spent his early years in domestic servitude, explaining his real name is not Mo but Hussein Abdi Kahin.

The pair are up against Lioness Beth Mead, who is nominated for her work promoting women in football, and Jake Daniels – the UK’s first male professional footballer to come out publicly as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990.

Ukrainian Premier League star Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has spoken out against the Russian invasion of his home country, is also battling it out for the prestigious honour.

Advocate: Mo – who recently released a documentary about being illegally trafficked to the UK as a child – has been shortlisted for his work as an anti-trafficking supporter

Other names shortlisted for the gong include anti-racism activist Aïssa Maïga, social change advocate Omar Sy and football manager Vincent Kompany.

According to information from the European Diversity Awards, the gong recognises people who ‘persistently work to advocate and promote diversity and inclusion’.

Founder of the European Diversity Awards Linda Riley said: ‘As Europe comes out of pandemic lockdowns and we start to see the repercussions of this, it is now more essential than ever to recognise those organisations, companies and individuals who persistently work to advocate and promote diversity and inclusion.

Charity work: Maya has been nominated for her work as an ambassador for charity Savera UK, which tackles culturally-specific abuse in the UK, including forced marriage

‘I am delighted that so many of these people and organisations have continued to show their dedication to diversity throughout the pandemic, demonstrating the true strength of their commitment. 

‘I am particularly delighted to see more and more organisations doing more to support wellbeing, social mobility and supplier diversity in their agenda. 

‘In the last 12 months our nominees have realised great achievements, championing diversity of race, age, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, social mobility or religious belief.

‘Our awards ceremony allows us to assemble and celebrate a truly amazing and inspirational group of people.’

Diversity: The pair are up against Lioness Beth Mead, who is nominated for her work promoting women in football

The European Diversity Awards will hold its 13th annual ceremony on November 11 at the InterContinental London Park Lane and will be hosted by BBC News presenter Jane Hill.

It has been promoting diversity and inclusion since its launch in 2010 and recognise the positive impact of marketing, campaigning, media diversity and social mobility representation across Europe. 

Headline sponsor UnitedHealth Group is partnering with the awards to celebrate leading diversity and inclusion champions, recognising achievements over the past year.

Gong: Jake Daniels – the UK’s first male professional footballer to come out publicly as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990, is also shortlisted