The Football Association announced plans to help increase participation in football for South Asian communities across the country earlier this year. 

The three-year programme aims to increase the number of people playing, coaching and refereeing football who are from the largest minority ethnic group in England.

The plan running until 2028 will help to improve equality, diversity and inclusion. So far, it has been successful in both the men’s and women’s games.

Looking at data from 2023 and 2024, the Asian inclusion strategy, which came prior to the plan announced this year, helped to bring an increase to the number of South Asian people competing in football.

Last year, the percentage of men from the South Asian community competing in football was at a record high of 11.1%. In women’s football, 17.3% of participants are South Asian, showing how the community is playing a pivotal part in the growth of the game.

The South Asian participation in football is currently at the second-highest growing group across all communities competing in football. The data is a clear example that the FA plan is working well.

When it comes to coaching, there is also an improvement in participation within the South Asian community. A 1.7% increase in numbers is extremely positive. The only other ethnic group to see a percentage rise was the white ethnicity.

Statistics when it comes to refereeing are rising. There have been over 600 new referees from the South Asian community enter the game, which is the biggest number out of all communities within England.

More than ever before, there are South Asian footballers, referees and coaches participating in the game of football. With the plan kicking off at the start of the season and with three years still left, who knows how much the percent of participants will grow in the community.

The future of the game is exciting for South Asia, from footballers breaking into the Premier League to referees taking charge of the biggest matches, the future is looking bright.

Working with the FA for the plan is the PGMOL, EFL, Premier League, Kick It Out and the Football Supporters’ Association to make sure it has the biggest impact it possibly can. The main areas being targeted are grassroots levels and younger generations.

If children and young adults get into football at an earlier age, then they are more likely to carry it on throughout their life. Providing a way of keeping fit and active for local communities is crucial to maintaining a healthy physical and mental well-being.

The Football Association has also worked on different ways of increasing South Asian representation in football. Football clubs such as Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bradford City just to name a few, all have a fan supporters club, used as a voice for people from the South Asian community.

Over the coming years, the FA will see the long-lasting impacts of their great work at the moment. If footballers break into first teams across the country who have heritage from South Asia, then they will be viewed as role models to younger people aspiring to be footballers.

With most of the plan still ahead of the governing body and with it being such a success already, the programme could be a huge turning point in the number of South Asian participants in football.