This is a list of Sikh footballers (soccer).

Introduction

Sikh footballers have been part of the football community for many years, with players contributing to the sport both on and off the field.[1] While historical records are limited, notable players like Roger Verdi, Jarnail Singh and Inder Singh paved the way for modern-day players such as Manprit Sarkaria, Danny Batth and Harmeet Singh.[2][3][4]

There has also been various football clubs founded by Sikhs such as Panjab football team, Punjab United, Balestier Khalsa and Sporting Khalsa.[5][6][7][8][9] In 2016, Sporting Khalsa reached the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup.

The movie Bend It Like Beckham which was based on a Sikh girl who wanted to play professional football, grossed $76.6 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing football sports film.[10]

List

The majority of Sikhs belong to the Punjabi ethnic group which origins can be traced in both Pakistan and India.

The list includes players with at least one game of professional experience outside of India.

Sikh Football players
Nat. Name Birthplace Pos Seasons Current Team Teams Played Ethnicity Ref
Austria Manprit Sarkaria Austria Winger 2017–Present Sturm Graz FK Austria Wien, Sturm Graz Punjabi [11]
Canada Shaan Hundal Brampton, Ontario Forward 2017–Present Vancouver FC Vancouver FC, Inter Miami, Valour FC, Ottawa Fury, Toronto FC II Punjabi [12]
England Arjan Raikhy Wolverhampton Midfielder 2021–Present Leicester City F.C. Leicester City F.C.,Aston Villa, Stockport County F.C., Grimsby Town F.C. Punjabi [1]
Norway Harmeet Singh Oslo, Norway Defensive Midfielder 2007–Present Sandefjord Fotball Sandefjord Fotball, HJK, Sarpsborg 08 FF, Kalmar FF, Wisła Płock,Molde FK, FC Midtjylland, Feyenoord, Vålerenga Fotball Punjabi [13]
England Kam Kandola Wolverhampton Centre Back 2020–Present Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Development Squad and Academy Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Development Squad and Academy Punjabi [14]
England Danny Batth Brierley Hill, United Kingdom Centre Back 2009–Present Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland A.F.C.,Stoke City F.C.,Middlesbrough F.C.,Sheffield Wednesday F.C.,Sheffield United F.C.,Colchester United F.C.,Wolverhampton Wanderers Punjabi & English [15]
England Brandon Khela Coventry, United Kingdom Central Midfielder 2022–Present Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City F.C. Reserves and Academy Punjabi [16]
England Mal Benning West Bromwich, United Kingdom Left Back 2011-Present Port Vale F.C. Port Vale F.C.,Mansfield Town F.C.,York City F.C.,Evesham United F.C.,Walsall F.C. Punjabi [17]
England Harpal Singh Bradford, United Kingdom Left Winger 2000-2009 Retired Leeds United,Bury F.C.,Bristol City F.C.,Bradford City A.F.C.,Stockport County F.C.,Sligo Rovers F.C.,Bohemian F.C.,Dundalk F.C. Punjabi [18]
England Roger Verdi Nairobi, Kenya Defender 1972-1981 Retired Phoenix Inferno,Phoenix Fire (soccer),Columbus Magic,Cleveland Cobras,San Jose Earthquakes,St. Louis Stars (soccer),Miami Toros,Montreal Olympique Punjabi [2]
India Gurpreet Singh Sandhu Mohali, India Goalkeeper 2009-Present Bengaluru FC Stabæk Fotball,Bengaluru FC,East Bengal Club,Indian Arrows Punjabi [19]
England Yan Dhanda Tipton, England Attacking Midfielder, Winger 2018-Present Ross County F.C. Ross County F.C.,Swansea City A.F.C. Punjabi & English [20]
Norway Karanveer Singh Grewal Lambha, India Defender 2012-Present Åskollen Åskollen,Asker Fotball,Mjøndalen IF,Strømsgodset IF Punjabi
Denmark Jagvir Singh Greve Strand, Denmark Winger 2019-Present FC Fredericia FC Fredericia,Brøndby IF,HIK Punjabi
Malaysia Santokh Singh Setapak, Selangor, British Malaya Defender 1972-1985 Retired Selangor F.C. Punjabi [21]
Malaysia Shebby Singh Johor, Malaya Defender 1978-1996 Retired Perak F.C., Negeri Sembilan FC, Kuala Lumpur City F.C., Sri Pahang FC, Johor F.C. Punjabi [21]
United States Raspreet Sandhu California, USA Forward, Winger 2017- 2017 Without Club Tampines Rovers FC Punjabi [22]
Greece Gurjinder Singh Piraeus, Greece Forward 2018- Present Proodeftiki F.C. Proodeftiki F.C., P.A.E. G.S. Diagoras, Ionikos F.C., AE Ergazomenon Kritis SYN.KA F.C., Platanias F.C. Punjabi
Singapore Delwinder Singh Singapore Defender 2011-Present Balestier Khalsa FC Balestier Khalsa FC Punjabi [23]
England Simranjit Singh Thandi Leicester, United Kingdom Defender 2018- Present Karmiotissa Polemidion FC Karmiotissa Polemidion FC, AEK Larnaca FC, Stafford Rangers F.C., Stoke City F.C. Punjabi [24]


References

  1. 1 2 "The Sikh footballers making a name in the game". BBC Sport. In January, Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first person of Sikh-Punjabi heritage to officiate in a Premier League match, running the line during Nottingham Forest's 1–0 win over Southampton. Now, a new generation of Sikh footballers are getting into the game, as Harpz Kaur reports for Football Focus.
  2. 1 2 "From Nairobi to the NASL: the unsung pioneer who marked Pele out of the game". The Guardian. An unlikely star of Sikh heritage in an era when British Asians were virtually absent from the game. Roger Verdi, a son of ethnic Punjabis, who changed his name to help navigate the murky waters of less enlightened times.
  3. ↑ "Was Inder Singh India's greatest forward?". The Away End. However, very few can match Inder Singh – an inside right forward who was not only a brilliant goal scorer, but also a scorer of barely believable goals. He is our Messi, he is our Ronaldo, he is our Neymar; over his career, Inder Singh had grown accustomed to embarrassing opposition defenders and mesmerizing every spectator in sight with his silky, skillful moves and glorious goals.
  4. ↑ "From facing death to playing through pain: The story of Jarnail Singh, Indian football's gutsy hero". Scroll. Archived from the original on 2021-12-30. More than fifty years after his heroics in India's gold medal-winning exploits at the 1962 Asian Games and twenty years after his death, Jarnail Singh is still fondly remembered as one of Indian football's true gems who knew no fear.
  5. ↑ "Panjab F.A statement on Sikh being stopped from playing football due to head covering". Sikh PA.
  6. ↑ "Punjab United: Our Lives follows the fortunes of Punjab United, a semi-professional football team in Gravesend run by British Sikhs, as they face their toughest season yet". BBC.
  7. ↑ "Derby founder of Punjab United honoured for contribution to football". Derbyshirelive. 5 May 2018. It started out as a kickabout in Arboretum park with the Indian and Sikh community who lived in the area. I was never a very good footballer but I was a very good organiser and have been involved with the club ever since.
  8. ↑ "Introducing Sporting Khalsa, a Club With Deep Roots and Big Ambitions". Vice News. Now regularly competing at the top of the ninth tier of the English game, the Midland Football League Premier Division, and with ambitions to climb higher, the club was founded by a group of friends whose families are originally from northern India, the Punjab, and moved to England in the fifties and sixties. Having met through two local Sikh temples – one in Willenhall, the other in Pleck – the younger generation bonded over football.
  9. ↑ "Jagjit Singh Sekhon: A true Singapore hero". AsianSamachar. I significantly remember when Jagjit was the President of the Singapore Khalsa Association (SKA). He reached out to the other communities by opening up sporting events to non-Sikhs. In his effort to project the Sikh community's name in the sporting arena, he even spearheaded support to Balestier Khalsa Football Club since its entry into the S-League.
  10. ↑ "18 Winning Facts About Bend It Like Beckham". www.mentalfloss.com. 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  11. ↑ @manisarkaria_ (5 November 2021). "Happy Blessed #Waheguru". Retrieved 4 May 2023 – via Instagram.
  12. ↑ Hundal, Shaan (22 May 2015). "Proud to be Sikh". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  13. ↑ "Harmeet Singh, the 'Norwegian Iniesta' who wants to score for India". CNN. 21 May 2019. Singh is also influenced by his religious heritage. As he gets older, he feels the need to do more charity work "because this is a big responsibility as a Sikh," the faith he was born into.
  14. ↑ "Just eight players of Asian descent in PL and EFL last season. That must change". The Athletic. Kandola, who has lived in the same Tettenhall house his entire life with his Indian-Sikh parents
  15. ↑ Aizlewood, John. "Danny Batth is at the heart of Wolves' frugal defence". The Times. The son of a Punjab-Sikh, Batth proudly categorises himself as British-Indian and often finds himself co-opted into an ambassadorial role
  16. ↑ "Brandon Khela Becomes First British South Asian Baller to Sign a Pro Deal at Birmingham City". Versus. July 2022. Speaking exclusively to VERSUS about the move, Brandon said: "To make history at the boyhood club which I have played for since the very start, I feel very honoured and grateful. As well being the first South Asian (Sikh) professional here at Birmingham City I am looking to inspire more players of my heritage to break through
  17. ↑ "Mal Benning hoping Wembley appearance will inspire future Indian Sikh players". The Independent. 27 May 2022. Mal Benning wants to inspire the next generation of Indian Sikh players as he goes for promotion with Port Vale.
  18. ↑ "United Kingdom". Outlook India. The song of the British Sikhs couldn't have been written 30 years ago. It finds at least one Sikh success story for every letter of the alphabet.........Pick up bits of the song here and there; Gurinder Chadha with the film Bhaji on the Beach, Harpal Singh signed by Leeds United football club
  19. ↑ "Interview: Indian National Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu about the role of a goalkeeper and football in India". PUMA CATch up. 13 June 2019. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  20. ↑ "Yan Dhanda: Racist abuse affected me more than I thought it would, but I won't be leaving social media". Sky Sports. Birmingham-born Dhanda is a product of the West Brom academy, and his father is Sikh-Punjabi.
  21. 1 2 "Looking for next Santokh for Malaysian football". Asia Samachar. Many felt this heroic and proud baton of his was passed to the rightful successor when Serbegeth Singh graced the pitches in the late 80s. Both were tough no nonsense defenders, with the tenacity and 'never die' attitude, emboldening the general perception Malaysians had of the Punjabi and Sikh community.
  22. ↑ "Raspreet's 'Sikh' dream in S-League". Sports247. Raspreet, being a Sikh, is a bonus as that community has produced some superb footballers over the years." Over to Raspreet: Your advice for any other young Sikhs, or even American-Asians, who want to take up sports, or football, as a career?
  23. ↑ "Bonding over football". AsiaOne. Another ex-international player S. Subramani received the outstanding achievement award while ex-national player Raj Inder Singh Gill was awarded the Sikh achievement award.In addition, ex-national under-21 captain Delwinder Singh received the Sikh achievement award for promising Sikh national football player.
  24. ↑ "The story of the ex-Leicester prospect flying the flag for South Asian players". Planet Football. Being from India, my parents wanted me to be a doctor or a dentist, or something along those lines, says Thandi, who was raised in a Sikh family by parents from the Punjab region of India.
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