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I think this is a good thing to hopefully appeal to more prospective fans in the local area.

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Won’t please some on here. PC gorn maaaad :wink:

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I can imagine the â– â– â– â–  boiling already.

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Good news especially if helps drive up support from our large Asian community in Walsall. Trouble is they like to be on the winning side according to my Asian friends so at the moment we are not that attractive!!

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Never understood why we (as a club) have never engaged more with the local Asian community close by in Pleck etc, We did get quite a few come when we played that friendly against the Indian national side, and then we had that link up with Sporting Khalsa for a couple of seasons, but we never capitalised on them in terms of gaining regular fans. Likewise we’ve only had Netan Sansara and Mal Benning come in on the playing front.

Likewise for other communities. For such a multiethnic town like Walsall, it often embarrasses me that there are more people of other ethnicities on the pitch than watching from the stands. I see many other clubs with a much varied fanbase.

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I agree the club should go more, I think we have to do more, but I think we have done more than other teams. Maz Kouyhar, as well as Mal and Netan have played. Can’t think of other teams who have had players play for them.

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Maybe it’s something that the various fan groups could get involved with rather than leaving it all to the club themselves?

EDIT: I mean in terms of encouraging people from other ethnicities to come to watch us rather than scouting for players.

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Good point but it will be difficult especially as some of the Asians I know are either not keen on football or tend to support successful teams. I did get one friend to attend once but he said he preferred Man Utd :grinning:

It’s probably an Asian thing,most of Asia is cricket mad,they even put field hockey above football. They are trying to get the population to like football in China,but I couldn’t tell you a single player who plays there. I think even Kabaddi is more popular than football.

But they are hardly locking them out at Worcestershire and Warwickshire either, and as you say they are cricket mad. So I don’t think it is a football thing.

Yeah it’s a puzzler. I’ve no idea why these people don’t want to spend their time around majority white British middle aged males watching a traditional British pass time. Can’t understand why they wouldn’t want to attend …

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But they could be the majority. And we’ve established it’s an Asian pastime.

Yeah could be, but isn’t.

Not sure if I’m misunderstanding you, but cricket is very popular in Asia

Yep it is. I never disagreed with you (although Asia is a rather large place, it’s popular in like 4 countries).

That doesn’t mean they’d rather watch it on TV than go to a cricket ground/football ground for fear of not feeling welcome. And judging by some of the things I’ve seen on these pages and just in general at football matches who can blame them.

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4? That must be Hong Kong, Nepal, Afghanistan and Bangladesh off the top of my head. :wink:

Crickets a totally different atmosphere to football. Although they may not feel welcome. I accept that. The point I’m making is lack of Asian spectators is not just a football thing.

Incidentally, there were plenty of Asian fans at last years CWC

4 being India, Pakistan Bangladesh and (I forgot about) Sri Lanka. Sure it’s played in those countries you named but it’s hardly some massively played National pass time. Like football is here or indeed Cricket is in the countries named.

I’m well aware of a cricket atmosphere (although I’ve been to one day games every bit as lively and the crowd I’m talking about in attendance as anything you’d get at any football ground in the country) but have you been anywhere near regulars at the cricket? Some sneer at people for wearing the wrong ■■■■■■■ clothes! Some treat talking as if you just dropped an F bomb in church. Hardly the most welcoming of atmospheres.

Of course there were at the CWC, they were surrounded by the same fans.

Yes, I agree, but that’s a class thing as much as a race thing.

Not that I’m saying you said it was.

Of course, I’m talking about what sort of atmosphere might prevent certain people from showing up. Basically “if they are not ok with that how would they feel about “outsiders” regularly showing up”.

Whether that’s right wrong, fair or not I believe it plays a part at crowd attended events all over the country.

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I agree. Definitely something ISSA, DSA, WSA and the Trust could actively work together on. :+1: