“It’s important to give them a voice and a safe space"
The South Asian community came together at Molineux on November 11 for an event organised by Wolves and the FA focused on tackling underrepresentation and creating more opportunities in football.
The event brought together local communities, supporters, young people, families, grassroots footballers and people already working in the game for an evening of discussion about inclusion, representation and the barriers facing South Asian people in the sport.
Held in the Hayward Suite at Molineux, the evening began with open table discussions, giving attendees the opportunity to share their experiences and identify the challenges preventing greater South Asian participation in football.
Each group then presented its findings, creating a starting point for conversations about how clubs and the wider game can make meaningful changes.
The first panel featured 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.
They answered questions from Ami Kaur, the FA’s EDI Pro Game ambassador, and shared their perspectives on representation across different areas of football.
Attendees also had the opportunity to speak directly with people working in the industry, including representatives from the Wolves Foundation, football development and Wolves Women.
A second panel brought together Jarnail Singh and Abu Nasir from the South Asian Football Alliance, SupportHers’ Collective co-founder Hina Shafi, Nilesh Chauhan from Fans for Diversity, Cami Boparai from Punjabi Wolves and current footballer Mal Benning.
The discussions also aimed to connect people with opportunities in football and identify practical ways to create lasting change.
Speaking about the importance of bringing the community together, 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 highlighted: “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, who has been attending matches at Molineux since 1987, reflected on how the stadium and the opportunities available to supporters have changed over the years.
He 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.”
