Last week, to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month in 2025, grassroots football initiative Desiballers was celebrated, which also marked their 15 anniversary. The initiative is to help break down and tackle potential barriers for South Asian footballers in the United Kingdom. Zohaib Rashid is the founder of Desiballers, which was created back in 2010.
South Asian Heritage Month began on 18 July and ends on 18 August. Each year, there is a theme for the month. The 2025 theme is ‘roots to routes’, which is focused on exploring journeys and shared heritage of South Asian communities within the UK.
The event at Vicarage Road helped to highlight the importance of DesiBallers and their impact on South Asian participation in football. By highlighting the success, it encourages the great work to continue. The impact on society and the local communities was also showcased during the celebration.
Matt Turmaine, an MP for Watford, said: “The goal of events like this is more than football, they are about identity representation and opportunity.”
As part of the South Asian Heritage Month, Desiballers teamed up with West Ham United’s Inclusive Irons, to celebrate the culture and connection within the local community. Over 150 fans were brought together to champion the work done for South Asian communities in East London in football. The event took place very closely to West Ham’s home stadium and occurred in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Image: kikichristofi on Instagram
On stage, there was a range of professionals in their respective fields. From footballers to journalists, the guests were all championed for their continuous support on helping to improve South Asian participation in football.
Inclusive Irons aim to encourage the local community to get behind the Premier League club and help to bridge the gap between British Asians love for the game and the lack of representation in the modern professional game.
West Ham United’s Director of Safeguarding and Inclusion, Jackie Ferdinand, said: “The event showcased the hard work of individuals striving to make sure the top talent in South Asian communities is represented on the highest level, from grassroots to the professional game.”
The Hammers have implemented strategies to invest time and resources into underrepresented parts of East London and Essex, to help create sustainable pathways for both players and coaches in the game. The strategy was celebrated at the evening, in front of many supporters. The creation was aimed to highlight the club’s commitment to equality and diversity in football and in the local area of West Ham United.
Since 2019 the participation in football from South Asian footballers has increased. In five years, there has been a 5% increase in the number of participants from the region in football.
DesiBallers’ social media pages also highlight how South Asian footballers are performing. The account informs their followers on transfers for players, if they play well or if they score. This is great as it feels like the account is a hub for all things South Asia in football and can be used to easily track the progress of certain footballers in the game.
With the targeted areas being grassroots football and younger people participating in football, in the following years to come there could be a huge influx in footballers from South Asia, putting pen to paper with professional clubs for youth-team contracts. Ultimately, this could lead to future national team appearances and being key role models and helping pave the way for younger footballers from a similar background.
