England youth coach Michael Johnson and Midlands talent developer Jas Batt have teamed up to coach aspiring female players from South Asian backgrounds ahead of a tournament at St George’s Park.
Johnson and Batt were supported by female volunteer coaches from BPM Sports at the tryout arranged by official Three Lions supporters’ club Apna England, offering players the opportunity to represent the fans’ group at a charity tournament later this month.
Talented players from as far afield as Leicester, Kent and Southall travelled to the West Midlands for the session, held at the home of FA Women’s National League Division One Midlands side Sporting Khalsa.
Sporting Khalsa, who were founded in 1991 and whose men’s first team play in the Northern Premier League Midlands division in the eighth tier of English football, are the most successful club ever to come out of Britain’s South Asian community.
Players at the session took part in a variety of coaching drills and training activities and were assessed by a team of trained talent identification specialists.
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Many faces from the football world took part in last year’s Copa Del Cure Leukaemia charity tournament
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Johnson, whose previous clubs include Birmingham City and Derby County, told Sky Sports News: “It was a really good chance and opportunity for me to take a look at some terrific talent from the South Asian community that has probably not been looked at in the way that we have done today.
“It was great working with them and it was also great to work with Jas Batt. For someone of that ilk to be down here in support of this initiative is superb.”
Simran, who had travelled to the session with her dad Raj, said: “It was such an inspiring day. Things like this don’t happen very often, if at all, and it really feels like the start of something.
“I’ve rarely had the chance to train or play alongside South Asian girls, so that was brilliant. It was great just to meet people, have fun, and just express myself and play with freedom.
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Sheffield United’s Courtney Sweetman-Kirk calls for urgent action to address the lack of diversity within the women’s game.
“We also had a crossbar challenge at the end – and who doesn’t love a crossbar challenge!”
How Sky is trying to make change
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Sky Sports announced a partnership with Sporting Equals to support the charity’s ambition of inspiring more opportunities for British South Asians in football.
The glaring lack of ethnic diversity at the elite end of the women’s game was brought sharply into focus during last summer’s Women’s Euros, with England fielding an all-white starting XI in all six of their matches at the tournament.
Sky Sports recognised and began taking steps to address the lack of diversity in the women’s game back in 2020 as part of its £30m commitment to tackle systemic racism and make a difference in communities across the UK.
Sky Sports has worked with dozens of current and former players from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and has tried to give them a platform to share their stories to try and capture the imagination to inspire the next generation of female footballers.
Talent has been identified and signposted directly to the Football Association and clubs as part of Sky Sports’ unprecedented commitment to British South Asians in Football, which has also seen us devote a section of our website to raising awareness about South Asians in The Game, and create a dedicated rolling blog.
A number of elite and elite-potential female players and their families have also been supported with mentoring and access to off-field developmental opportunities.
Sky Sports also partnered with the country’s largest sports race equality charity, Sporting Equals, which has seen us support participation across the country, including devising the ‘Seeing Is Believing’ event for century-old west London sports club Gymkhana.
British South Asians in Football
For more stories, features and videos, visit our groundbreaking South Asians in Football page on skysports.com and South Asians in the Game blog and stay tuned to Sky Sports News and our Sky Sports digital platforms.
