Student promoting South Asian involvement in British football

Student Millie has been talking to us about her activism in promoting female and South Asian involvement within football.

Millie, who studies MSc Football Business, is on our South Asians in Football Leadership Scholarship, the first scholarship of its kind.

Through this scholarship, Millie is receiving mentorship from Dev Trehan, the first South Asian football news journalist at Sky Sports.

Speaking about the scholarship, Millie said: “It has been really good so far. I’ve been getting a lot out of it.

“Dev has been great. He is able to offer me so much knowledge, advice and mentorship.

“South Asians in football is something that we’re both passionate about and being a South Asian woman in football myself, it’s something we try and change the landscape of.

“The scholarship is helping to change that.”

Millie was recently named in the South Asians in Football Team of the Year for the second consecutive year.

“It’s a great initiative for South Asians across the country,” she said.

“We’ve reached the stage where a lot of South Asians, and particularly South Asian girls, are participating in football, so the growth is great.”

She added, talking about future growth: “The next step would be to see those girls come through the elite pathway and elite levels, getting into academies and filtering up into the international pathway.

“I think it’s really important to have a voice for South Asian women in football, to have role models in the game.

“It’s very important that younger girls see those players and aspire to be like that.”

She finished: “There are lots of areas in football where people can work and drive change, whether that’s in the boardroom or on the sidelines.”