List
The majority of Sikhs belong to the Punjabi ethnic group which origins can be traced in both Pakistan and India.
The list includes players with at least one game of professional experience outside of India.
This is a list of Sikh footballers (soccer).
Sikh footballers have been part of the football community for many years, with players contributing to the sport both on and off the field. [1] While historical records are limited, notable players like Roger Verdi, Jarnail Singh and Inder Singh paved the way for modern-day players such as Manprit Sarkaria, Danny Batth and Harmeet Singh. [2] [3] [4]
There has also been various football clubs founded by Sikhs such as Panjab football team, Punjab United, Balestier Khalsa and Sporting Khalsa. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] In 2016, Sporting Khalsa reached the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup.
The movie Bend It Like Beckham which was based on a Sikh girl who wanted to play professional football, grossed $76.6 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing football sports film. [10]
The majority of Sikhs belong to the Punjabi ethnic group which origins can be traced in both Pakistan and India.
The list includes players with at least one game of professional experience outside of India.
Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term Sikh has its origin in the Sanskrit word śiṣya, meaning 'seeker', 'disciple' or 'student'. According to Article I of Chapter 1 of the Sikh Rehat Maryada, the definition of Sikh is: Any human being who faithfully believes in
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a Sikh militant. He was the leading figure of the Khalistan movement, although he did not personally advocate for a separate Sikh nation.
Babbar Khalsa International, better known as Babbar Khalsa, is a Sikh militant organisation that aims to create an independent Sikh nation of Khalistan in the Indian and Pakistani states of Punjab. It has used armed attacks, assassinations and bombings in aid of that goal, and is deemed to be a terrorist entity by various governments. Besides India, it operates in North America and Europe, including Scandinavia.
The Damdamī Ṭaksāl, also sometimes referred to as Giani Samparda, Jatha Bhindra(n), or Sampardai Bhindra(n) is an orthodox Khalsa Sikh cultural and educational organization, based in India. They are known for their teachings of vidya as well as gurbanisanthiya. Its headquarters are located in the town of Mehta Chowk, approximately 40 km north of the city of Amritsar. It has been described as a seminary or “moving university” of the Sikh countryside.
Talwinder Singh Parmar or Hardev Singh Parmar was a Sikh militant accused by indian government of masterminding the 1985 Air India Flight 182 bombing, which killed 329 people. It was the worst single incident of aviation terrorism in history until the September 11 attacks in the United States. In addition, another bomb was meant to explode aboard Air India Flight 301 in Japan the same day, but it exploded while the plane was still grounded, killing two people. Parmar was also the founder, leader, and Jathedar of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), better known as Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh militant group involved in the Khalistan movement.
Dhillon is a one of the largest Jat clans found in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. Dhillon sardars (chiefs) ruled the Bhangi Misl in the Sikh confederacy.
Jagjit Singh Chohan was a major Sikh leader of the Khalistan movement that sought to create a sovereign Sikh state in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Chohan established the Council of Khalistan at Anandpur Sahib on 12 April 1980 and became its first self‐styled president.
Lala Jagat Narain was an Indian editor, member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Member of Parliament and founder of the Hind Samachar media group.
Jathedar Sukhdev Singh Babbar was the militant and co-leader of Babbar Khalsa (BK), a Sikh militant organisation involved in the pursuit of creating a Sikh nation named as "Khalistan" and generally believed responsible for the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, although Sukhdev was never named as being involved. BK was founded by Talwinder Singh Parmar, himself, and Amarjit Kaur. He commanded BK continuously for 14 years until he was killed in 1992. He was a member of the AKJ.
Mahilpur is a city and a Nagar Panchayat in Hoshiarpur district in the Indian state Punjab. It is situated on Hoshiarpur to Garhshankar stretch of State Highway 24. It is famous for the game of football in the region. Mahilpur is connected by road to nearby districts, states such as Jaijon, Jalandhar, Pathankot, Mohali, Chandigarh. Mahilpur is a development block. Mahilpur block has 140 villages in it. It as also known as the soccer-town of India given the craze of football among the people of Mahilpur town and its surrounding villages. It belongs to the Kandi area in the Doaba region of Punjab.
Amrik Singh was the President of the All India Sikh Students Federation. He was killed in the Indian Army's operation on the Golden Temple on June 6, 1984.
Harchand Singh Longowal was the President of the Akali Dal during the Punjab insurgency of the 1980. He had signed the Punjab accord, also known as the Rajiv-Longowal Accord along with Rajiv Gandhi on 24 July 1985. The government accepted most of the demands of Akali Dal who in turn agreed to withdraw their agitation. Less than a month after signing the Punjab accord, Sant Longowal was assassinated by Gyan Singh Leel and Jarnail Singh Halvara.
Sukhdev Singh Dhillon, best known as General Labh Singh and also known as Sukha Sipahi and just Labh Singh, was a former Punjab police officer turned militant who took command of the Khalistan Commando Force after its first leader, Manbir Singh Chaheru, was arrested in 1986.
British Asians in association football include British citizens with heritage or joint nationality of any Asian country; there is a long history of British Asian football players in England particularly, dating back to the Victorian era, albeit in low numbers. In modern times the proportionately low number of British Asians in association football has received significant media attention, and has seen some clubs announce plans to explicitly target young British Asian players. Prominent British Asian players have included Frank Soo, Neil Taylor, Zesh Rehman, Jimmy Carter and Michael Chopra.
The 1978 Sikh–Nirankari clash occurred between the Sant Nirankari Mission and Sikhs of Damdami Taksal and Akal Kirtani Jatha on 13 April 1978 at Amritsar, Punjab, India. Sixteen people—thirteen traditional Sikhs and three Nirankari followers—were killed in the ensuing violence, occurring when some Akhand Kirtani Jatha and Damdami Taksal members led by Fauja Singh protested against and tried to stop a convention of Sant Nirankari Mission followers. This incident is considered to be a starting point in the events leading to Operation Blue Star and the 1980s insurgency in Punjab.
Jarnail Singh Dhillon was a former Indian football player, who played as a centre-back. He was the captain of the India national football team from 1965 to 1967. He was given the Arjuna Award in 1964 for his achievements as a football player. He also competed in the men's tournament at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Considered as one of Asia's best defenders in the 1960s, he spent most of his career in Mohun Bagan.
Dharam Yudh Morcha is a 2016 Indian Punjabi-language semidocumentary film directed by Naresh S. Garg about the Dharam Yudh Morcha a Sikh movement in the Indian state of Punjab, chronicling the history of Punjab from 1947 to 1984 including the Punjabi Suba movement, the Anandpur Sahib Resolution and the insurgency in Punjab.
In January, Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first person of Sikh-Punjabi heritage to officiate in a Premier League match, running the line during Nottingham Forest's 1–0 win over Southampton. Now, a new generation of Sikh footballers are getting into the game, as Harpz Kaur reports for Football Focus.
An unlikely star of Sikh heritage in an era when British Asians were virtually absent from the game. Roger Verdi, a son of ethnic Punjabis, who changed his name to help navigate the murky waters of less enlightened times.
However, very few can match Inder Singh – an inside right forward who was not only a brilliant goal scorer, but also a scorer of barely believable goals. He is our Messi, he is our Ronaldo, he is our Neymar; over his career, Inder Singh had grown accustomed to embarrassing opposition defenders and mesmerizing every spectator in sight with his silky, skillful moves and glorious goals.
More than fifty years after his heroics in India's gold medal-winning exploits at the 1962 Asian Games and twenty years after his death, Jarnail Singh is still fondly remembered as one of Indian football's true gems who knew no fear.
It started out as a kickabout in Arboretum park with the Indian and Sikh community who lived in the area. I was never a very good footballer but I was a very good organiser and have been involved with the club ever since.
Now regularly competing at the top of the ninth tier of the English game, the Midland Football League Premier Division, and with ambitions to climb higher, the club was founded by a group of friends whose families are originally from northern India, the Punjab, and moved to England in the fifties and sixties. Having met through two local Sikh temples – one in Willenhall, the other in Pleck – the younger generation bonded over football.
I significantly remember when Jagjit was the President of the Singapore Khalsa Association (SKA). He reached out to the other communities by opening up sporting events to non-Sikhs. In his effort to project the Sikh community's name in the sporting arena, he even spearheaded support to Balestier Khalsa Football Club since its entry into the S-League.
Singh is also influenced by his religious heritage. As he gets older, he feels the need to do more charity work "because this is a big responsibility as a Sikh," the faith he was born into.
Kandola, who has lived in the same Tettenhall house his entire life with his Indian-Sikh parents
The son of a Punjab-Sikh, Batth proudly categorises himself as British-Indian and often finds himself co-opted into an ambassadorial role
Speaking exclusively to VERSUS about the move, Brandon said: "To make history at the boyhood club which I have played for since the very start, I feel very honoured and grateful. As well being the first South Asian (Sikh) professional here at Birmingham City I am looking to inspire more players of my heritage to break through
Mal Benning wants to inspire the next generation of Indian Sikh players as he goes for promotion with Port Vale.
The song of the British Sikhs couldn't have been written 30 years ago. It finds at least one Sikh success story for every letter of the alphabet.........Pick up bits of the song here and there; Gurinder Chadha with the film Bhaji on the Beach, Harpal Singh signed by Leeds United football club
Birmingham-born Dhanda is a product of the West Brom academy, and his father is Sikh-Punjabi.
Many felt this heroic and proud baton of his was passed to the rightful successor when Serbegeth Singh graced the pitches in the late 80s. Both were tough no nonsense defenders, with the tenacity and 'never die' attitude, emboldening the general perception Malaysians had of the Punjabi and Sikh community.
Raspreet, being a Sikh, is a bonus as that community has produced some superb footballers over the years." Over to Raspreet: Your advice for any other young Sikhs, or even American-Asians, who want to take up sports, or football, as a career?
Another ex-international player S. Subramani received the outstanding achievement award while ex-national player Raj Inder Singh Gill was awarded the Sikh achievement award.In addition, ex-national under-21 captain Delwinder Singh received the Sikh achievement award for promising Sikh national football player.
Being from India, my parents wanted me to be a doctor or a dentist, or something along those lines, says Thandi, who was raised in a Sikh family by parents from the Punjab region of India.
