Leila Smati

Leila Abu Hafs Smati is a sports journalist and one of the first Arab women to work in television sports commentary, with a career extending from Algerian television to Al Jazeera Sports.

She was born in Bejaia, Algeria, and spent a happy, settled childhood in Algiers as the third of four daughters in a family that also included two sons. The garden planted by her agricultural-engineer father filled the family home with trees, fruit and fragrant flowers. Helping him cultivate it gave her a lasting love of nature, soil and agriculture.

Responsibility and independence came early. She helped her mother with cooking and household work, applied herself to study and readily offered assistance to others.

The home was shaped by affection, stability and Qur’anic recitation. Her father and grandfather taught the girls to read the Qur’an from childhood, while her father organised their time among memorisation, reading, sport, the sea and summer scout camps. Watching matches with him and exploring nature strengthened both their relationship and her willingness to meet difficulty with courage.

She excelled throughout her education. Although she attended state schools, distinguished teachers placed her on a sound path and gave her a thorough academic foundation.

After gaining the baccalaureate, she chose the media specialism she had wanted since the age of five. Her parents supported the decision, although her father had hoped she would study diplomatic affairs.

Athletics, gymnastics, swimming and handball all formed part of her early sporting life before she concentrated on volleyball. She joined the Algerian national team and represented her country in international competition.

Repeated sporting injuries did not discourage her. They strengthened her character and increased her capacity to confront challenges and overcome setbacks.

Her media career began in Algeria in 1990, when she joined Algerian Television at eighteen. Over six years, placements and training camps with well-known media organisations in France broadened her experience and helped form her professional identity.

Officials entrusted her with major assignments despite her youth. She twice covered the Mediterranean Games, as well as the Olympic Games, the Volleyball World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations, and presented important sports programmes including ‘Numbers and Comments’.

Competence, diligence, precision and passion carried that early career. Broadcasting was never merely an official duty; it was a field of sustained enthusiasm and service.

A decisive opportunity arrived in 1996 when Saad Al-Rumaihi nominated her to join Al Jazeera News in Qatar, with the support of Ayman Jada. They had met at the Atlanta Olympic Games that year, where he observed her work for a week before telling her that she deserved a place on the emerging channel’s team. Al Jazeera became her gateway to audiences across the Arab world.

Khaled Jassim, Saad Al-Rumaihi and her Qatari colleague Dr Elham Al-Badr helped the network feel like a second family after the one she had left in Algeria. Working alongside experienced broadcasters, including Jamil Azar and Ayman Jada, enriched her knowledge and enabled her to shape a distinctive voice in sports media.

After seven years at Al Jazeera News, she joined the founding team of Al Jazeera Sports in 2002. She worked on the new channel with Ayman Jada and Talal Al-Attiyah; Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Yousef Al-Obaidli subsequently joined the team.

The channel launched in 2003. She presented programmes across several formats, particularly documentaries, and received international recognition at the Tehran Festival for work highlighting Iranian women’s contributions to sport. She also presented ‘Gulf Women: Between Custom and Religion’.

She resisted routine formats and pursued bold subjects and pioneering ideas. Her work continued when Al Jazeera Sports became beIN SPORTS in 2014, opening another phase of contribution and achievement.

Training allowed her to pass the substance of a long career to a new generation of media professionals, supporting them as they developed their own confident and successful paths.

Those she supported included Mohammed Saad Al-Kuwari, camel-racing commentator Saad Al-Otaibi, Saad Al-Hudaifi and Faisal Abdullah, alongside many younger figures who later established themselves in sports media. Her work also helped clear a path for a generation of women broadcasters.

Her contribution extended into sports administration. She helped establish the Cycling Federation and women’s sport in Qatar under the supervision of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, meeting her several times in 2000. The period brought considerable achievement as well as the challenge of promoting women’s sport within a conservative society.

Across her broadcasting career, she covered major sporting occasions and interviewed leading figures in football and tennis. The 1990s were a period of marked growth in Qatar’s attention to sport.

In 2000, she covered the Busan Games with the Qatar Olympic Committee, then chaired by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Qatar secured the right to host the 2006 Asian Games, and she promoted the Qatar Girls’ Committee, chaired at the time by Ahlam Al-Mana, while helping prepare the programme ‘The Road to Doha 2006’.

‘The Road to Doha 2006’ became a reference point for later coverage and won Al-Saqr magazine’s Best Programme award in 2006. Its breadth also attracted a substantial audience.

She presented ‘Countdown’ in preparation for the Asian Games and ‘Colours of Sport’, which covered thirty-nine sports. She accompanied His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani during the torch relay and became a trusted source for broadcasters beyond Al Jazeera Sports. The Asian council awarded her its Gold Medal of Excellence, while coverage of the 2004 World Table Tennis Championships remained another notable achievement.

An adventurous approach distinguished her programmes. She found new angles on sporting events and used broadcasts to introduce the host country’s culture and tourist destinations. The format influenced later presenters and became a model in its own right.

Her work for Algerian Television received awards in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. A further sequence of honours followed her move to Al Jazeera Sports.

Al-Saqr magazine named ‘The Road to Doha 2006’ Best Programme in 2006.

The Asian council awarded her the Gold Medal of Excellence for coverage of the 2006 Asian Games.

The Tehran Film Festival gave ‘Iranian Women in Sport’ its Best Documentary Programme award.

Arab Sports Magazine named her Best Sports Broadcaster in 2010.