As we continue to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month in football, the latest episode of our Football & Me series focuses on the involvement and development of people from a South Asian background in the game.
Covering players, coaches and supporters, the latest show was hosted by BBC Asian Network sports reporter Amber Sandhu and Sky Sports News presenter Sanny Rudravajhala.
And they were joined at St. George's Park by four special guests.
Among the lineup was Manisha Tailor MBE, who works as the international development coach at Spurs and was also part of the England Elite Coach Programme in the 2023-24 season when she coached the England women's U15 squad. You can read Manisha's coaching story on England Football here.
She was joined by Leicester City player Arjan Raikhy, who made his senior debut for the Foxes during their promotion season from the EFL Championship last season.
Also on the show was Nilesh Chauhan, the Football Supporters' Association's 'Fans for Diversity' campaign manager and David Rainford, the Premier League's head of education and academy player welfare and a former player himself.
The Football & Me series initially highlighted 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.
And it proved to be a very successful campaign, featuring players, coaches and match officials of Asian heritage discussing their inspirational journeys to date
Now, series three will cover a wider range of EDI topics, with LGBTQ+ and Black history to feature in the coming episodes.
Among the topics discussed were the guests' journeys and thoughts on football and South Asian representation, while Rainford spoke about the Premier League's South Asian Action Plan alongside Kick It Out.
Aiming to help address the underrepresentation of British South Asian players within the Academy system, the initiative was launched in 2022 and has an initial focus on players entering the Academy system in the U9 to U11 age groups, when most boys join a club.
It also supports one of the key commitments of the League's ongoing No Room For Racism Action Plan, to enhance player pathways and help diversify the workforce within the professional game.
You can watch the full episode of Football & Me below.
Filmed and directed: Iconic Productions
Post-Production: Little Thief
FA Executive Producer: Dal Singh Darroch
Special thank you to: The Premier League, The Football Supporters Association, Leicester City FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Refresh Sports and St George's Park
