We have released a content series highlighting positive stories from Asian participants across the game, with the aim of inspiring people within Asian communities to play a bigger part in English football on and off the pitch.
Titled Football & Me, the video series has proven to be a very successful campaign, featuring players, coaches and match officials of Asian heritage discussing their inspirational journeys to date.
The campaign follows the release of our Asian inclusion strategy, Bringing Opportunities to Communities. Launched in 2019, the strategy aims to ensure more people from Asian communities are part of English football both on and off the pitch, focusing on five pillars: The FA and its culture; pathways; grassroots football; Asian women and girls; and community engagement.
The videos, many of which also feature England Senior Men’s manager Gareth Southgate, can be found below:
SEASON ONE
Episode one: featuring Maz Pacheco and Yan Dhanda
Episode two: featuring Hamza Choudhury and Zidane Iqbal
Episode three: featuring Layla Banaras
Episode four: featuring Azeem Amir
Episode five: featuring Sabrina Dale and Riteesh Mishra
Episode six: Featuring former referee Jarnail Singh and his sons Sunny and Bhups Gill, who are current match officials
SEASON TWO
Episode one: Featuring Mariam Mahmood and Kira Rai
Episode two: Featuring Bukayo Saka, Kam Kandola and Maz Kouhyar
Episode three: Featuring Alicia Tang and Ritan Mehta
Episode four: Featuring Yasmin Saeed and Irfan Kawri
Episode five: Featuring Mick Singh and Humayun Islam
SEASON THREE
Episode one: Featuring Manisha Tailor, Arjan Raikhy, Nilesh Chauhan and David Rainford
Episode two: Featuring Paul Kirton, Feiruz Abdullahi, Adam Flint and Ben Rosser
CREDITS
| Season 1 | Season 2 | |
| Director/Producer | Rubika Shah & Ed Gibbs (Smoking Bear Productions) | Rubika Shah & Ed Gibbs (Smoking Bear Productions) |
| FA Executive Producer | Dal Singh Darroch | Dal Singh Darroch |
| Interviews | BritAsia TV & Rubika Shah | Rubika Shah |
| Music | Universal Music, Sukh Knight | Universal Music, Makh |
| Clubs | West Ham United, Swansea City, Manchester United, Leicester City, Birmingham City Women, Sporting Khalsa, Charlton Athletic | Derby County FC, West Bromwich Albion FC, Your City FC, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Burnley FC |
| Participants: Players | Asmita Ale [Aston Villa Women], Mal Benning [Port Vale], Jimmy Carter [ex-Liverpool and Arsenal], Simran Jhamat [Bristol City Women], Rosie Kmita [Watford Women], Adil Nabi [OFI Crete] | Kira Rai [Derby County], Mariam Mahmood [West Bromwich Albion], Kam Kandola [Wolverhampton Wanderers FC], Maz Kouhyar [York City FC] |
| Research participants: off pitch | Rupinder Bains [FA Board], Paul Elliott [FA Inclusion Advisory Board Chair], Dr Aisha Ahmed, Jas Bains, Jas Batt, Shafique Govani, Yashmin Harun, Arun Kang, Dr Dan Kilvington, Alan Lau, Kalam Mooniaruck [West Ham United], Dr Aarti Ratna, Chris Ramsey [QPR], Riz Rehman, Yousuf Sajjad [Arsenal FC], Robina Shah, Manisha Tailor [QPR] |
Ritan Mehta & Alicia Tang [England Lionesses medical team], Yasmin Saeed [Referee], Irfan Kawri [Coach], Amar England Supporters Club, Apna England Supporters Club |
| A special thank you to | England Senior Men’s Manager Gareth Southgate and England Senior Women’s players Nikita Parris and Demi Stokes | England Senior Men’s Player Bukayo Saka and England Senior Women’s player Demi Stokes |
To get in touch with us, please email AsianInclusion@TheFA.com
