FA series hopes to inspire boosted football participation

A new content series put together by the Football Association (FA) aims to inspire people within Asian communities to play a bigger part in English football on and off the pitch.

The six-part video series, marking South Asian Heritage month, features players, coaches and match officials of Asian heritage discussing their inspirational journeys to date, including: Hamza Choudhury from Leicester City, Zidane Iqbal of Manchester United, Maz Pacheco of West Ham United Women and Yan Dhanda of Swansea City

England senior men 's manager Gareth Southgate also provides his view on Asian participation throughout.

The first video, featuring Maz Pacheco (pictured), Yan Dhanda and Gareth Southgate can be found here, while the following five videos will be shared on England Football, FA, England, and Lionesses social media channels throughout South Asian Heritage Month, which ends on 17 August.

The series has been developed by Smoking Bear Productions in collaboration with award-winning British Asian filmmaker Rubika Shah, alongside producer Ed Gibbs.

This follows The FA 's update on its Asian inclusion strategy, Bringing Opportunities to Communities, which was shared earlier this year.

Launching in 2019, the strategy aims to ensure more people from Asian communities are part of English football both on and off the pitch, focusing on five pillars: The FA and its culture; pathways; grassroots football; women and girls; and community engagement.