"So I started this off unofficially at first."
Leyton Orient FC is home to several official supporters’ groups and one that represents the British South Asian community is the Punjabi O’s.
Launched at the beginning of 2024, the Punjabi O’s has joined the likes of the Leyton Orient Supporters’ Club, RainbOs, MeshuganOs and Spanish Supporters Group Wyverns of the South.
The fan club was set up by Arvi Sahota, who said:
“Through inspiration of other clubs, we looked to set up a Punjabi supporters group, and we said, ‘Lets just do it’.
“Our main goal was to use the inspiration of the Punjabi community here in Leyton.
“We want to raise awareness of our South Asian fan base, but we want to be inclusive of everybody.
“Anyone who wants to learn anything about the Punjabi culture, we are happy to share.
“We’re a fun culture who love to have a good time, and we want to share that with everyone!”
Orient midfielder Theo Archibald is the group’s official ambassador.
In an exclusive interview with DESIblitz, Arvi spoke about how he started Punjabi O’s and South Asian representation in English football.
What inspired you to start the Punjabi O’s?
The inspiration came from when we first started to attend games and we realised the club had no South Asian representation.
Clubs around the country have their official South Asian-centric groups such as Derby County, Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Hereford United, and Spurs, to name but a few, which was the main inspiration.
So I started this off unofficially at first. As a laugh if truth be told.
This was for a few years until the club made an approach to make us an official supporters’ group.
Did you face any initial challenges in gaining support for the fan club?
There weren’t any challenges as there were no initial goals set.
It was just to get something out there to let people know that Leyton Orient do have a brown fanbase too albeit on an unofficial basis at the start.
The local area demographic should be represented within the stadium to create safe spaces.
How has your own background and experience shaped the mission and goals of the Punjabi O’s?
Being from a Sikh and Punjabi background means I come from an even more of a marginal and minority group than just South Asian.
“With these challenges, it made it even more of a mission to get the recognition we exist.”
I also find it important to tackle the underrepresentation of British South Asians in football.
I work closely with Dev Trehan on this and we have an official partnership with Leyton Orient to tackle this.
Work started a while back, it continues, with much more to come.
What were some of the first steps you took to make this club a reality?
A simple yet effective way, sign up for your social media handles. Start posting.
Eventually, you’ll get recognised by fans and the club – I prefer this type of organic approach.
Alternatively, you can always approach your club, but will they listen? You just don’t know until you try.
How do you approach building a sense of belonging and identity within the club?
On the bio of the socials, I’ve specifically put “We Welcome All” because that ultimately, is our ethos.
Together we are stronger, no matter what your background.
Going back to Sikhi, Harmandir Sahib (The Golden Temple) in Amritsar, the holiest place for Sikhs, has four doors.
This is to represent that people are welcome no matter what their background, religion, culture, colour, race, creed, etc.
That’s where my inclusivity influence comes from.
What role do you think sports, and football specifically, play in bringing different communities together?
Sport and football play a huge part in bringing communities together.
If you play for a team, you have a common goal that unites you, no matter what your background is.
“If you’re a fan, same thing. It provides this unity without it being advertised as an exercise as such.”
And there’s plenty of programmes that can be run for specific communities to invite them into a sport/football space to feel safe in undertaking activities as a participant or a fan.
Some of the work an organisation called Seeing Is Believing do for young South Asian girls in football is amazing and is one excellent example of what can be done.
What are some memorable moments or milestones the club has achieved since its founding?
Some memorable moments as a supporters’ group include, our launch event in June, the Bhangra dancers and dhol players on the pitch prior to the Leyton Orient vs Birmingham City kick-off, the announcement of the official partnership with Leyton Orient and Trehan Football.
We also put on a Diwali/Bandi Chhor Divas event at the end of October which was a huge success and was also covered by ITV which was shown on national TV.
As supporters of Leyton Orient, memorable moments include winning the National League which restored our Football League status and also winning League 2 in the 2022/23 season.
How has the response from the broader football community and clubs been toward your initiative?
It’s a very positive response.
As I mentioned earlier, there are already many of our types of groups in this space who have been doing amazing work already.
It is a very supportive space despite us having loyalties to different clubs.
You can’t take away that tribalism when it comes to sport.
But when it comes to common goals, aims and objectives, we are all in it together and try to come up with ideas to further ourselves as a people.
What do you hope to achieve with this fan club in the future, and how do you envision its growth?
My hope is for the fan group to be a recognised entity within the football world which would mean Leyton Orient as a club would be a known entity nationally too.
“Not just for League One fans, but for football fans as a whole.”
For me, it’s important that the growth remains organic, especially by keeping up with what we’re doing.
Such as running events, continuing networking by attending various events, and generally raising the profile of The Punjabi O’s and Leyton Orient locally, regionally and nationally by partaking in various club-run events and activities and other things.
Do you see this fan club as having a broader impact on the representation or inclusion of British South Asians in football?
Yes.
Through our groundbreaking partnership with Leyton Orient and Trehan Football to tackle exactly that problem.
Although it is still a fairly new fan club, the Punjabi O’s is quickly growing among Leyton Orient supporters and the wider community.
In addition to supporting their team, Arvi and other members run events and initiatives to raise awareness and increase South Asian representation within English football.
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