At two FA faith and football events at Wembley Stadium, a timeline and production of South Asian-American female players in the modern English game will be the first of their kind. Attending are some of the nation’s best football players of South Asian descent. At Wembley, the first timeline and exhibit documenting the history of female English game players will be displayed. Wembley Stadium will host Vaisakhi and Ramadan events for the Football Association.
On Saturday, the home of English football will host the third major Ramadan football celebration in north London in the past two weeks. The supporters’ group Spurs REACH held the first Ramadan Iftar at Tottenham’s home stadium. It was born 24 hours after Arsenal hosted a masterclass for South Asian heritage coaches with the PFA, with an Iftar meal served after sunset.
Football Association to host Vaisakhi and Ramadan events at Wembley Stadium
On Monday, a Vaisakhi celebration will also occur at Wembley, and nearly 2000 people of all faiths are anticipated to attend both. The Vaisakhi occasion will see Ardaas, a Sikh supplication, occur pitch side close to the Wembley turf for the first time. Before the exhibit was moved to Wembley Stadium, Britain’s first turban-wearing Sikh Member of Parliament, Tan Dhesi, went to the Singh Sabha Sports Centre in his home constituency of Slough. Dev Trehan, a journalist and FA Level 2 scout curated the timeline. At both events, he will talk to guests about the journey of South Asian women in football, the work that went into creating the groundbreaking timeline, and why the project could change English football forever.
It was unveiled at the end of last month at Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge stadium, following an initial pilot at Gymkhana, a century-old West London sports club. It is part of a more prominent showcase with Sporting Equals, featuring four community role models currently playing women’s league football. Rai said that it was an honor to be invited to speak at the Vaisakhi event at Wembley Stadium. She hopes the timeline and showcase will pique people’s interest and serve as a platform for increasing diversity and female representation in the sport.
