All White Sarpreet Singh hopes his appearance at the FIFA World Cup can pave the way for other players of South Asian heritage.
According to New Zealand Football, the forward is the first Sikh to play at a senior men’s FIFA World Cup. He is also the first player with the surname “Singh” – one of the world's most popular – to play at the tournament.
Singh told reporters he was aware of the fact before the tournament, and said it was a “real proud moment”.
“It means a lot to me, it means a lot to my people, my family, my community.
“I’m very happy to be the first, and pave the way for the rest of them coming through.
“I hope to see many more Singhs and Sikhs and Punjabi footballers coming through, and Indian heritage footballers.”
Singh said a 2017 All Whites tour to India made him realise how much support there was for him outside of New Zealand.
“I always know I’m representing them, as well as New Zealand, so I always try and do my best.”
Growing up, Singh said he looked up to sporting heroes like Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Singh started for the All Whites in their 2-2 opening game against Iran on Tuesday. They now have two games left in the group stage against Egypt and Belgium, both of which are being contested in Vancouver, Canada.
Singh said he knew the city had a big Indian community.
“I’m sure a lot of people, including a lot of my family, will be there.”
Singh is one of five players at the World Cup with South Asian heritage – people from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. It’s a geographic region home to about 25% of the world’s population.
Other players with heritage from the region at the tournament were Qatar’s Tahsin Mohammed Jamshid, Iraq’s Zidane Iqbal, Australia’s Nishan Velupillay and DR Congo’s Samuel Moutoussamy.
NZ Football said players of Asian heritage were among the fastest-growing demographics in the game, with their numbers increasing by 10% in the last year. Youth players with Indian heritage increased 16% in the last year.
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