Cardiff City’s Rohan Luthra becomes first ‘keeper from Britain’s South Asian community to play in Championship | Football News

England youth international Rohan Luthra’s historic performance for Cardiff in Saturday’s game at Preston North End has been described as “excellent news”.

The 6ft 5in Punjabi stopper came off the bench in added time to make his senior debut in English football, becoming the first goalkeeper from Britain’s South Asian community to ever play in the Sky Bet Championship.

With Cardiff in added time, Luthra replaced striker Mark Harris after goalkeeper Jak Alnwick was booked for a tackle on Tom Cannon as he attempted to make a clearance.

Luthra, 20, has returned from injury and was only on the bench at Deepdale as fellow Cardiff goalkeeper Ryan Allsop served a one-match suspension after being sent off in last week’s win over Bristol City.

Goals from Cannon and Ched Evans gave Preston a 2-0 win to keep their slim play-off hopes alive.

Cardiff manager Sabri Lamouchi said after the game: “Unbelievable, two games in a row, two red cards for the goalkeeper.”

Batt: Luthra’s debut is ‘tremendous news’

In the summer of 2021, Sky Sports News exclusively revealed that Luthra left Crystal Palace after more than a decade at the south London club, before breaking the news that he was set to join Cardiff City.

West Londoner Luthra, who became the first British South Asian to sign a Premier League contract as a goalkeeper, is a former Whitgift School pupil and played alongside England internationals Bukayo Saka and Callum Hudson-Odoi at junior level before making his debut in goal. Crystal Palace U-18, he is only 15.

“This is fantastic news for English people in South Asia in football in 2023,” said Jaspir Batt, England’s technical talent coach. Sky Sports News.

“They’ll be celebrating this from Wales to west London and all the way to the Wagah border, and beyond!

“Rohan is someone everyone from South Asian background can be proud of. He is a multi-talented sportsman from a wonderful family, who has been an elite-potential talent for a long time.

“I’m sure I speak for everyone in the community when I say we’re all proud of him.”

A spokesman for the official Three Lions supporters club Apna England told Sky Sports News: “This is a moment for the football family and the wider South Asian community, in England and beyond, to rejoice.

“Everyone wants to see better representation in the ‘great game’ and Rohan making history will give a lot of hope for the future of people from different backgrounds.

“Rohan has represented his country with distinction at junior level and as England’s official fans group we would like to offer our best support and best wishes to Rohan, his family and everyone associated with Cardiff City Football Club.”

Sky Sports News broke the news that Bhupinder Singh Gill made history in Southampton’s game with Nottingham Forest earlier this year, becoming the first Sikh to act as an assistant referee in the Premier League.

Four days later, British-Pakistani wonderkid Layla Banaras broke the glass ceiling when she became the first woman of South Asian heritage to turn out for Birmingham City in the professional era.

East Londoner Zahmena Malik has also had a great start to 2023, grabbing a memorable assist on Pakistan Women’s debut in a historic match against Comoros in Saudi Arabia. London Seaward attacking midfielder Malik also scored in a 4-0 win for his club against Chesham United last month.

Manchester United young boy Safia Middleton Patel has enjoyed an unforgettable year. The 18-year-old goalkeeper signed his first contract in professional football, previously joining Coventry United on loan before making his full international debut and keeping a clean sheet for Wales against the Philippines.

This month, Sky Sports News exclusively revealed West Ham academy graduate Anwar Uddin is set to leave his role with the Football Supporters Association to lead the FA’s efforts to make football accessible to all.

How Sky is trying to make a change

The under-representation of British South Asians in the game was described by Kick It Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari as “the biggest statistical anomaly in English football”.

Ethnic diversity at the elite end of the women’s game, meanwhile, came into sharp focus during last summer’s Women’s Euros, with England fielding an all-white starting XI in all six matches at the tournament.

Sky Sports recognized and began taking steps to address the lack of diversity in the women’s game by 2020 as part of a £30m commitment to tackle systemic racism and make a difference in communities across the UK.

Sky Sports has worked with dozens of current and former players from various ethnic backgrounds, and has tried to give them a platform to share their stories to try and capture the imagination to inspire the next generation of female soccer players.

Talent has been identified and signposted directly to the Football Association and the club as part of Sky Sports’ Unprecedented commitment to English South Asia in Football, which has also seen us dedicate part of our website to increase awareness of South Asia in the Game, and create a dedicated rolling blog.

A number of elite and elite-potential female players and their families have also been supported with mentoring and access to development opportunities off the pitch.

Sky Sports also partnered with the largest sports competition charity in the country, Sporting Equals, which has seen us supporting participation across the country, including creating the ‘See What You Believe’ event for the century-old London sports club Gymkhana.

English South Asia in football

For more stories, features and videos, visit the South Asia in Football breakthrough page on skysports.com and the South Asia in Games blog and stay tuned to Sky Sports News and our Sky Sports digital platform.