The Apprentice’s Virdi Mazaria shows her support for Sikh Youth UK’s annual national football tournament

Thousands of people, along with Sikh sports and TV personalities, attended the annual Sikh National Youth Football Tournament in Britain this weekend to remember the Sikh martyrs of June 1984. Apprentice’s Virdi Mazaria also attended the event , which took place at Southam College, Warwickshire, on 1 June.

Kira Kaur Rai was another Sikh personality and Derby County footballer who showed her support on the day. The annual tournament brought the community together to remember the people lost in June 1984 and to play football.

The Sikhs came to mark the occasion not only from across the UK – including teams from Birmingham and the West Midlands – but also from Holland and France. There was plenty of entertainment including live music and performances, children’s entertainment, art exhibitions and Sikh education stalls, raffles, prizes and more.

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We spoke to organizer Deepa Singh, from Sikh Youth UK, who said: “We started these events 11 years ago and they have just grown and grown. It is amazing to see Sikhs coming together to remember what happened in June 1984 and using football as a tool to help bring the community together. The day was amazing with 150 teams marking 40 years of the events. The atmosphere was amazing and I loved the unity among the Sikh community.

“Football is the key element that brings everyone together because it’s part of the culture that grew up in Britain, there was a lot of education in June 1984 by various speakers and educational groups that attended and there were prizes and competitions to get involved in . .

“Thank you to all the volunteers for helping out on the day and making it a great success, thanks also to the gurdwaras for providing banners and langar (food), and thanks to the teams from Holland and France, we hope you had a wonderful.”

Speaking on the day, footballer Kira Kaur said she likes to see women playing football. She said: “It’s very inspiring for me to see all you girls here playing football and enjoying it. I think in the next few years it will be very common for us Sikh Punjabi girls to play football and that’s what I really am. passionate about.

“For me in my career it wasn’t always as easy to embrace religion because you were a bit different, but I think things like that help you do that and take you with you on your journey of football and life. as I grew older I realized the importance of Sikhi.”

Apprentice’s Virdi Mazaria added: “We came to the Sikh Shaheedi tournament. We have an absolutely amazing day, it’s so great to see the community come together and play football. It’s amazing to drive and I can’t wait for the next one. .”

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