The Albion Foundation’s Premier League South Asian Emerging Talent Festival on Friday, June 21 has been described as “brilliant” by key figures in the community.
The first festival of its kind hosted by the Foundation attracted over 150 participants, ranging from under-eights to under-12’s to the Academy facility.
Plenty of smiles were sported throughout the evening, as players took part in tournaments with the under-eight and under-nine winners set to represent the Foundation in the national finals in Loughborough this August.
For youth engagement coordinator Darryl Hickman, seeing a variety of communities coming together was a main ambition of the evening, along with following the Premier League’s South Asian action plan to increase participation.
“The aim is to encourage more participants from South Asian backgrounds into football,” Hickman said. “We hope that they can then progress from there into further areas and possibly the professional game.
“It’s so important to set this up. There’s such a range of individuals and people who’ve never played football before to come and play together.
“Giving them the chances to play on the academy pitch and in the dome and experience these facilities for the first time is brilliant.
“Last year, the Premier League ran it for the first time and there were only four clubs involved across the country. We’re doing our bit by engaging as many of these young people as we can.
“There’s been smiles galore, everyone’s having a good time and there’s a real fun festival feeling in here.”
Bhervindar Singh, Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick committee member believes The Albion Foundation are persistent in reaching out to a variety of South Asian communities.
“It’s a brilliant initiative that the Foundation have done here,” Singh said. “We really appreciate their partnership.
“They’re always trying to reach out into our communities to get us involved in activities. For the kids this is massive, you can see it on their faces, they know West Bromwich Albion and to see the place is enough for them.
“Some parents haven’t seen their kids play but today they’ve got the opportunities to come to the facilities. One parent told me they didn’t realise how good their child was because the opportunities aren’t always there.”
It’s not just the adults that gave glowing reviews of a successful evening for the Foundation - the participants enjoyed it too.
“We’ve had a variety of games and teams,” Ayaan, a participant said. “It’s been fun and the staff have been very nice.
“It’s one of the biggest tournaments I’ve played in. I love that everyone’s come together to play and that’s a brilliant thing about it.
“It’s a competitive atmosphere but it’s also kind and friendly with each other. All of the players are thankful for it.”
“The night has been joyful,” Yusef, another participant added. “We’ve played lots of games, lots of teams. Everyone’s very supportive and we’ve really enjoyed themselves.
“There’s a lot of people here just to play football and it’s brought us together. Just to compete and have fun is brilliant.”
