Fan groups celebrate South Asian Heritage Month

The Fans For Diversity campaign teamed up with the FA for the inaugural FA South Asian Shield, which took place on Saturday 4th July, a celebration held as part of South Asian Heritage Month at St. George’s Park.

The day kicked off with an exhibition fans’ match between Monsoon FC and Indus Rangers, featuring 14 South Asian supporters groups who travelled to the FA’s national football centre to take part.

After the match, a conference featuring guest speaker and England legend Emile Heskey, met to discuss the importance of diversity in football while highlighting the talent and passion within South Asian communities.

The day concluded with a showcase of pre-season preparation, featuring matches involving Sporting Khalsa, Sporting Bengal, Albion Sports, and Punjab United.

All images © Reiss Singh Studios

Nilesh Chauhan, campaigner manager at Fans for Diversity said: “We know the power of representation. The FA South Asian Shield is a perfect example of that. It’s great to see supporter groups get together, breaking down barriers and proving that football truly is a game for everyone. It was an honour to be part of such a great day.”

Dal Darroch, the FA’s head of diversity & inclusion strategic programmes, said: “Our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, A Game Free From Discrimination, continues our focus on increasing football participation across all communities – and this event encapsulates what we’re looking to do.

“Bringing together such a wide range of people from the South Asian community has been brilliant, and the opportunity for everyone to connect, network, learn and share their ideas for increasing participation within their respective communities has been invaluable.

“We’ve had an excellent turnout, and watched some great games of football, too, and we’re looking forward to seeing the impact the day has on the community.”

A great video of the day, courtesy of the FA:

Fans For Diversity is a campaign programme run in partnership between the FSA and Kick It Out. Fans For Diversity encourages, funds and supports initiatives by fan groups to promote diversity and inclusion in football, and to challenge all forms of discrimination.