Female football supporters from Wales’ South Asian communities will watch the national team play for the first time on Friday through a new initiative designed to create a more diverse fan base.
The sold-out signs are set to go up for Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifier with Armenia at the Cardiff City Stadium with Rob Page’s side hoping to take another step towards next summer’s finals in Germany.
Among the 33,000-plus capacity crowd will be women benefiting from a partnership between Her Game Too Cymru, Amar Cymru – the group launched in 2020 to give the South Asian community a voice in the national team – and the Football Association of Wales.
Thirty tickets were made available to women from South Asian communities to attend the game. With the offer oversubscribed, fans that missed out have been invited to a Cardiff restaurant on Monday to watch Wales’ Euro qualifier in Turkey.
Roopa Vyas is a director of Her Game Too, the campaign group run by fans to raise awareness of sexism in sport, and has followed the Wales national team at home and abroad.
“We want to show the Red Wall is the friendliest fan base around,” said Caerphilly-born Vyas, who has a Ugandan father and an Indian mother.
“I have gone to games off my own back but I know the barriers that exist and it not easy for people from Muslim, Hindu, Bengali, Somali and other communities to do that.
“Amar Cymru is a progressive group that want to get female fans to games and they came to me as they knew I went to games and could shine a light on it.
“Hopefully we can go back to the FAW after the game and show them it was successful.”
Shazia Zahoor, born in Cardiff of Pakistani heritage, once played for Dinas Powys Ladies alongside current Wales captain Sophie Ingle and will be among fans experiencing her first international action on Friday.
“I’ve been a football fanatic since I was 13 and wanted to play but the culture did not encourage it,” said Zahoor, who will be joined at the Wales game by her sons Ibrahim, 11, and Zakariya, five.
“Even now I would feel uncomfortable talking to my father about playing football.
“I’m thrilled to be going to a Wales game and taking my two boys. It will be lovely to see other Asian women there because it really is breaking down barriers.”
The FAW want to create a more diverse fan base and has had mascots with South Asian heritage at home games and discussed establishing prayer rooms for fans at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Members of Amar Cymru – which translates to ‘My Wales’ and resonates with the South Indian, Bangladeshi and Punjabi communities – attended a Wales match for the first time in September 2021.
Jalal Goni, the organisation’s founder, says the landscape of Welsh football has changed even in that short time.
“When Amar Cymru started in lockdown it was pre-dominantly made up of males, but Wales being at the World Cup changed things,” said Goni.
“Females were saying how we can watch it and we had an event for the USA game at the World Cup that included arts and crafts and other things for the family as well as the football.
“The World Cup opened up the stadium experience for females. We know the older generation in our communities would not support females going to a male dominated event but we are breaking that stigma down.”
Goni, who will be part of a 10-strong Amar Cymru delegation in Turkey as the group attends a stand-alone Wales away fixture for the first time, added: “There is a lot riding on it.
“Female fans will be dressed differently in head scarves and cultural dresses and we hope there will be no negative comments.
“It is a massive step but the FAW have done a tremendous job in reshaping Welsh football, certainly since Euro 2016.
“Attending Wales games has become more of a family experience and we feel we are ready for this.”
Defending champs Clarendon College secure 2-1 win over Denbigh High to kick off DaCosta Cup
Defending champions Clarendon College opened their ISSA DaCosta Cup campaign with a tense 2-1 win over Denbigh High at the Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay, Jamaica on Saturday.
Clarendon College took an early lead in the fourth minute when Justin Hayles latched on to a through ball to finish across Denbigh goalkeeper Kevin Pryce into the bottom corner.
They went two ahead when Terron Williams scored directly from a corner kick in the 22nd minute.
Denbigh were the more attacking team to start the second 45 minutes and were handed a lifeline when Tayo Cross converted a late spot kick won by substitute Rahjaun Cassanova.
In the end, however, Clarendon College held their nerve to ensure that they got the three points to kick off the defense of their title.
Clarendon College will next take on Lennon High on September 14 while Denbigh will face Claude McKay a day earlier.
Mona High begins defense of Manning Cup title with 7-0 win over Waterford
Mona High School started the defense of their first ever ISSA Manning Cup title with a dominant 7-0 thrashing of opponents Waterford High at Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay, St. James on Saturday.
Man of the match Carlton Brown scored a pair of goals in the 17th and 37th minutes, the first being a brilliant right-footed strike from long range that evaded Waterford goalkeeper Jaheim Daley.
In between those two strikes, Savi-K Morton made it 2-0 in the 31st minute through a well-placed left-footed shot from just inside the 18-yard box.
Captain Robino Gordon made it 4-0 ten minutes later with a close-range finish, a score that would hold until the end of the first half.
Just a minute into the second 45 minutes, Alex Suazo made it 5-0 with the second long-range strike of the day.
The scoring was completed by Kshaine Gordon (67’) and Denzel McKenzie (70’).
“It’s really important to get off to a good start and we have more to come,” Brown said in a post-match interview.
Mona assistant coach Kyle Butler believes his team could have done even better but was happy with the win nonetheless.
“Definitely a statement win. The foundation is there but we’re still in second gear. We still have a lot that we can improve on. We could have won 10-0 easily but as I said the foundation is there and we want to build on that,” he said.
Waterford High coach Kevin Reid expressed disappointment at his team’s performance.
“It’s a disappointing start for us. Experience got the better of us today. Nevertheless, I believe they learned something to day and I believe the best team won. We just have to get back in training and put in some more work and, hopefully, we will have a better second game,” he said.
Mona will next take on Jonathan Grant on September 12 while Waterford will tackle Charlie Smith on the same day.
United States 1-2 Canada: David helps continue Marsch's impressive run
Canada continued their impressive run under Jesse Marsch after their Copa America exploits, beating the United States 2-1 in a friendly at Children's Mercy Park.
Goals in either half from Jacob Shaffelburg and Jonathan David handed Canada the advantage, with Luca de la Torre's goal proving a mere consolation in another dominant display from the visitors.
A frenetic start to proceedings was rewarded in the 17th minute as Johnny Cardoso's loose touch allowed David to tee up Shaffelburg to finish beyond Patrick Schulte.
Canada restricted their opponents to just one shot in the first-half but were unable to build their lead despite registering 11 shots, five of which were on target.
But they got the goal their performance merited after the break, again pouncing on a mistake by Michael Varas's side, with David finishing into the roof of the net.
De la Torre responded with a composed finish after neat play from substitute Aidan Morris, but Canada were able to see out the result with relative ease on enemy turf.
Data Debrief: David dazzles in Kansas
Having already scored three goals in seven appearances for Lille this season, David transferred that goal-scoring touch to the international stage.
The 24-year-old impressed against the USA, recording more shots (four) and shots on target (three), while also registering an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Canada's 1.95 total.
Canada's triumph was their first win against the USMNT on American soil since 1957, ending the US' 23-game unbeaten home run against them, the longest against any opponent in team history.
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