The South Asian community came together at Molineux on Wednesday for an evening of meaningful conversation on inclusion, representation and opportunities in football.
The event, organised by Wolves and the Football Association, saw local communities, supporters, young people, families, grassroots footballers and people already working within the game come together for an evening of honest conversation, connection and action.
The evening began with open table discussions on the barriers in place for South Asian people in the sport, with each group discussing their findings with those present in the Hayward Suite at Molineux.
The first panel, consisting of Leicester City and England footballer Sareet Binning, the FA’s head of diversity and inclusion strategic programmes Dal Darroch, charity ambassador Manny Kang and Wolves HR director Chris Roberts, then took their seats on stage to answer questions posed by Ami Kaur, FA EDI Pro Game ambassador.
They spoke honestly, giving South Asian voices from across football, before attendees were able to speak one-on-one with people in the industry, including representatives from the Wolves Foundation, football development and Wolves Women.
The second panel featured Jarnail Singh and Abu Nasir from the South Asian Football Alliance, co-founder of SupportHers’ Collective Hina Shafi, Nilesh Chauhan from Fans for Diversity, Cami Boparai from Punjabi Wolves and current football Mal Benning via video link.
The event was about more than discussing underrepresentation, it was about connecting people directly with opportunities and identifying what football can do differently to create lasting change.
Ami Kaur said: “It’s all about breaking barriers and understanding how the community can participate more. Wolverhampton has such a big South Asian community, but as a club we’re not represented enough, so it’s about understanding the barriers through conversations with people in the community.
“It’s important to give them a voice and a safe space where they feel what they said will be heard. There are a lot of people who want to be part of the space, so it’s important to include them and making sure it’s a club for all.”
Dal Darroch said: “It’s really important to have these kinds of events. It’s a way of bringing the community together and showing that Wolves and football cares. It’s been a long time coming, so it was great to have members of the community present and lots of role models.
“The landscape generally is positive. In coaching and refereeing there’s been some really good developments, becoming a lot more diverse, but we see a bit more fluctuation in playing, but I think the landscape will continue to look more diverse, given our country is a lot more diverse than it used to be.”
Manny Kang said: “When I started coming to Molineux in 1987, Molineux didn’t look like it does, but now we have these spaces, we need to use them. There didn’t used to be an avenue to express concerns, but there is now to report any issue, but we still need to do more to bring authentic fans from different communities to football, knowing it’s safe.”
Sareet Binning added: “The support I’ve received from the South Asian community has been really nice. When I captained England it was a really pivotal moment for me, and seeing what it meant to the South Asian community was really nice, and it gave me more hunger.”
