Aston Villa launches new ethnic minority women's supporters group with Saathi House

A brand-new supporters group has been launched with the help of the Aston Villa Foundation, with a strong focus on representing women of migrant heritage.

‘Saathi Villans’ has been created to break down barriers and encourage local women from ethnic minorities to attend Aston Villa matches, and many of their members will be attending for the first time against West Ham on Monday night (16 September).

Women from Saathi House in Birmingham have come together to form Aston Villa support group 'Saathi Villans' — Women from Saathi House in Birmingham have come together to form Aston Villa support group ‘Saathi Villans’

With support from Aston Villa Foundation, Mashkura Begum, who runs local community hub Saathi House, founded the group and she’s delighted to be bringing the club closer to its community.

She said: “The partnership with the Foundation has ranged from supporting Saathi House with some decoration work to brighten the centres main delivery room to inviting us to a few home matches.

“But it’s not been one-sided, and in return Saathi House has supported the Foundation in understanding some of the key barriers restricting local women attending matches and how the fan experiences can be enhanced.

“Saathi House ladies are looking forward to attending the game so much so they have gone and bought new outfits to wear to the match and some have even bought claret colour hijabs!”

Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith on the pitch with Saathi House members

As part of Aston Villa’s ‘ALL IN’ initiative, the club have been working closely with different community groups via the Foundation to ensure that Villa Park is a place free from discrimination of any kind.

And it was the Foundation’s links to the Football Supporters Federation and fellow supporters group Villans Together that helped in the foundation of Saathi Villans.

Saathi Villans is the official Aston Villa supporters group from Saathi House

Diversity & Campaigns Manager at the Football Supporters Association, Anwar Uddin was also instrumental in setting up the group.

He said: “The Fans for Diversity campaign is thrilled to be working with Saathi Villans.

“A key component of our campaign is introducing new fans to the club and working towards an inclusive environment for all. We know the group will be thrilled to be Part of the Pride moving forward.”