British South Asians in football: Sky Sports and Sporting Equals team up to raise awareness and inspire | Soccer News

Sky today announces a partnership with Sporting Equals to support the charity’s ambition to provide more opportunities for British South Asians in football.

The collaboration is part of Sky’s £30million pledge to tackle systemic racism and make a difference in communities across the UK and will see Sporting Equals receive a six-figure donation as part of the partnership initial.

The partnership stems from a shared desire to help tackle under-representation by addressing some of the barriers affecting the participation and progression of British talent in South Asian football, particularly in women’s football.

active lives survey data has consistently shown that South Asian women are the least physically active group in the country, and only 0.3% of players in English women’s football’s top division, the FA Women’s Super League, come from the British South Asian community.

Going forward, Sky and Sporting Equals will work together to raise awareness and educate the public on this subject, working with other stakeholders to create opportunities for talent to flourish and supporting participation in the game.

Jonathan Licht, CEO of Sky Sports, said: “Sky Sports is proud to offer a platform to help inspire more opportunities for the South Asian community to get involved in football.

“Collectively, we are striving for greater equality in sport and, as Europe’s largest sports broadcaster, we are well placed to highlight under-representation in the game and use our platforms to drive change in this space.

“Building on the great work done by Sky Sports News over the past year, partnering with Sporting Equals is a further step in our commitment to ensuring that all audiences feel represented by our content. “

Sporting Equals Chief Executive Arun Kang OBE said: “Sporting Equals is pleased to partner with Sky on this important work, which is an important step towards engaging and celebrating South Asian communities in football, breaking down outdated and negative stereotypes to inspire the next generation of football players, coaches and administrators.

“Highlighting viable role models is essential, which we will do through this project by showcasing female football ambassadors, particularly South Asian women in community settings. This is particularly important as part of the problem with South Asian involvement in football is that few have made it into the elite lanes in the sport.

“This showcase of South Asian role models and ambassadors aims to inspire and connect with wider South Asian communities, so they too can feel like they belong in the sport.

“Part of this project will also seek to educate football organizations on the wide range of talent present within South Asian communities. There are still many negative and misconceptions about South Asians, their abilities and their talent. .

“With Sky’s support through this partnership, we will seek to address this issue and demonstrate the true capabilities of South Asians in football.”

Sporting Equals is an independent, not-for-profit charity whose aim is to promote ethnic diversity in the sport and physical activity sector.

Its mission is to make a lasting difference in the inclusion of all underrepresented communities in sport and physical activity in order to help increase participation and improve the long-term opportunities and health outcomes of these communities, as well as developing elite talent.

British South Asians in football

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