FA launches Plan to Support South Asians in English Football

The FA has published a new three-year plan that is targeted at improving the representation of South Asians within English football.

FA launches Plan to Support South Asians in English Football f

The new plan aims to build on this progress

The Football Association (FA) has launched its first-ever plan to improve South Asian representation in English football.

‘Build, Connect, Support’ builds on a previous Asian inclusion strategy and is the first plan dedicated to making football more accessible for England’s largest minority ethnic group.

It follows a year of collaboration with key organisations, including the Premier League, EFL, Kick It Out, Football Supporters’ Association, PFA and PGMOL, as well as grassroots and professional football stakeholders.

Running until 2028, the plan is a key part of a wider four-year equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, ‘A Game Free From Discrimination’.

The initiative aims to celebrate the country’s diversity and use football to drive positive change.

More South Asian players, coaches and referees are involved in football than ever before.

Over 11% of South Asian adult males and 15% of females participate in the game, while 5% of boys and over 4% of girls aged 5-15 play in affiliated football.

FA launches Plan to Support South Asians in English Football

The new plan aims to build on this progress, setting fresh targets to further increase participation.

Focusing on grassroots football, the National League and Women’s pyramid, coaching and talent identification, refereeing, and education, the five key aims of ‘Build, Connect, Support’ are to:

  • Raise awareness of the pathways into football across all areas of the game.
  • Embed South Asian inclusion across grassroots football by working with regional organisations and County FAs.
  • Develop opportunities to increase South Asian female participation across grassroots, talent, workforces and supporter groups.
  • Create more engagement opportunities and communication interventions between The FA and South Asian communities.
  • Present a holistic football-wide joint approach wherever possible, working closely with football bodies and key stakeholders.

Recent initiatives have included faith-based events at Wembley Stadium, mentoring programmes for future leaders from diverse backgrounds, increased educational resources at grassroots level and work with key partners to improve representation and tackle discrimination.

Dal Singh Darroch, The FA’s Head of Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Programmes, said:

“Through our new ‘Build, Connect, Support’ plan, we aim to ensure that South Asian communities across the country have an increased awareness of – and access to – opportunities within our game.

“South Asians make up the largest minority group in England.”

“And we want to build on great progress in recent years to grow representation across key areas of our game, including playing, coaching and refereeing.

“We’re committed to continuing our close work with South Asian communities to ensure that our game is better reflective of our modern society, and this plan will bring a clear focus to our work in this area for the next three years.”

Lead Editor Dhiren is our news and content editor who loves all things football. He also has a passion for gaming and watching films. His motto is to "Live life one day at a time".




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