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London Seaward’s attacking midfielder Zahmena Malik scored a memorable assist on Pakistan Women’s debut in a historic match against Comoros in Saudi Arabia.
The 21-year-old played the full 90 minutes against Comoros at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium in Riyadh in Pakistan’s first women’s match against African opposition.
Malik played a delightful back-heel square ball to allow Anmol Hira to grab the winner in the 89th minute, as Pakistan bounced back from a record 7-0 win over The Maldives in their last match. South Asian Football Federation Championship last year in Nepal.
Malik was named in Pakistan’s squad – along with Doncaster Rovers Belles forward Nadia Khan and Chesham United’s Amina Hanif – for this month’s four-team women’s international friendly tournament in Saudi Arabia, featuring the host nation, Comoros and Mauritius.
The England-Pakistan Women’s National League Division One South East side joined London Seaward in coaching for Bloomsbury Football, and celebrated her 21st birthday while training with the national team in Lahore last month.
Speaking specially for Sky Sports News Last month, former Harlow Town Ladies manager Ruudy Yusuf said: “Zahmena didn’t realize how good they were and kept going.
“He plays at a good standard with an amazing club under some great coaches with strong values. Zahmena is a player for whom anything is possible if he can continue his trajectory.”
Banaras made Blues history
Birmingham City’s Layla Banaras, 16, became the first woman of South Asian heritage to represent the Blues in the professional era after featuring in Sunday’s Women’s FA Cup tie against Huddersfield.
Banaras, whose mother is British and father Pakistani, was a substitute for the Blues in their 4-0 win at St Andrew’s at the weekend.
“I said it before they got their chance,” said Birmingham City Women’s manager Darren Carter.
“Since he’s come up and trained with us every day, you’ve seen him get stronger and more confident, and he deserves it.
“But in Layla’s case, she’s really good. Her attitude is really good and she deserves to be on the field.”
The Banaras tough, who has been in Birmingham since the age of eight, is a former pupil of Hobmoor’s Oasis Academy – and has since played football at Solihull Moors FC.
Banaras, who can play in defense and midfield, captained the Birmingham U16 academy team last season before progressing to represent the club’s development team on a number of occasions.
The versatile wing-back played 90 minutes as the youngest player on the pitch – aged just 16 years and 25 days – in last season’s FA WSL U21 Academy Cup final against Manchester United at St George’s Park, adding to the demands for his money. British youth phone.
Brandon Khela and Layla Banaras were part of the Birmingham City kit launch
Banaras was cheered on by friends and family and friends past and present as she took part in the Queen’s Baton Relay earlier this year ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The 16-year-old also featured at Birmingham City’s kit launch earlier this season, appearing alongside men’s first-team academy graduate Brandon Khela as the Blues embraced a rich cultural diversity to promote their new lane.
How Sky is trying to make a change
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Sky Sports last year announced a partnership with Sporting Equals to support the charity’s ambition to inspire more opportunities for Britons in South Asia in football.
A striking lack of ethnic diversity at the elite end of the women’s game has focused heavily on this summer’s Women’s Euros, with England fielding an all-white starting XI in all six matches of 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.
Last year, Sky Sports also partnered with the country’s biggest sports equality charity, Sporting Equals, which saw us support participation across the country, including creating a ‘Seeing Is Believing’ event for west London sports club India 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.
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