Kick It Out set to launch South Asian Action Group
Trailblazing St Mary’s alumni is set to join Kick It Out South Asian Action Group aimed at underrepresented communities the Sports Gazette understands.
Dev Trehan, who studied a MA in sports journalism in 2012, was the first ever British South Asian Sky Sports football reporter.
Trehan has gone on to become an industry pioneer with his contribution to a range of diverse and exclusive stories.
The award-winning journalist was the architect of the Hidden Figures series during 2020 Black History Month.
Months later, he launched a topical page dedicated to British South Asians on the Sky Sports website, the first of its kind in mainstream media.
Kick It Out’s South Asian Action Group is also understood to include some of the leading figures in the drive for a more diverse game.
Kick it out announced a year ago they intended to form a working group to address the ‘massive statistically anomaly’ of underrepresentation of South Asians in football, particularly on the pitch.
Almost 8% of people in Britain come from South Asian backgrounds but representation is less than half a percent for football players.
There are just four footballers with a Premier League contract, with only one appearing in the league this season.
Kick It Out unveiled a three-year strategy in February 2021 as part of their aim to drive positive and inclusive change in football.
British broadcaster Sky has provided Kick It Out with £3m of funding and will continue this over the next three years.
Sky committed £30m to support the fight against racial injustice and invest more in diversity and inclusion in 2020.
This commitment would see Sky invest £10 million per year across its markets for each of the next three years.
The aims are to improve Black and minority ethnic representation at all levels, make a difference in communities impacted by racism, and use power of Sky’s platform to highlight racial injustice.
The launch of the South Asian Action Group will mark a step in the right direction for the progress of the English game.
Now with Dev Trehan set to be on board, the Kick It Out three-year strategy to eliminate discrimination from football will make major inroads.
