On Thursday 28th September, we welcomed special guests and people from across the Surrey football network to Meadowbank Football Ground, for an event championing Diversity and Inclusion.

Held by our Inclusion Advisory Group, the evening started with a panel discussion and Q&A session, before attendees had the opportunity to network and listen to a presentation from our IAG about their objectives and recruitment strategy. 

The panel, which was hosted by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Officer, Eve Roberts, included Diversity and Inclusion Manager at the FA, Anwar Uddin, Assistant Head of Coaching Boys at Queens Park Rangers Manisha Tailor, and our very own Soye Briggs.  

Throughout the evening, important discussions were had about the significance of inclusion within football and the impact this has on the wider community, which prompted conversations about how we can make football open and accessible for all. 

Eve had the following to say: 

“This event has really cemented the importance of diversity and inclusion in our organisation and conveyed that to those who attended. It was great to see so much passion and interaction from our guests on the topics discussed. This event will be the blueprint for more like this and I can't wait to watch these grow with our Inclusion Advisory Group.”

If you would like to know more about the evening or how you can be more inclusive at your football club, please head to our dedicated page or contact our EDI officer at Eve.Roberts@SurreyFA.com.