As Wales takes part in its first World Cup in 64 years, a burgeoning network of Welsh fans is ensuring everyone can enjoy the beautiful game. Amar Cymru brings together south Asian football supporters from across the country to cheer on the national team - and in turn diversify the crowds at stadiums.
"Wales is a very diverse place, but yet, when we go to football matches, you don't have that fair reflection of the diverse communities in the stadium," said Jalal Goni, co-founder and head of the group. The 32-year-old, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, said there is a "stigma" around football matches among ethnic minority communities.
"Our dads have been to football matches in the 70s and 80s, where they have had racial abuse hurled at them, they've been spat at, discriminated against. They never wanted their kids to go through and deal with what they've been through," he said. "Amar Cymru is now a bridge to bringing new faces to football - especially Wales games. Wales games are very family friendly, they're very welcoming."
Read more: Wales put up rainbow flags at Qatar training base in defiant message after controversies
Amar Cymru, which translates to 'My Wales', provides Wales' south Asian communities - who are largely Muslim - a more welcoming and comfortable space to watch the games. For home games, that means going as a group to the stadium, so no-one feels out of place. For away games, the group meets at the Juboraj restaurant in Cardiff - rather than a pub, the usual haunt of football fans - which is owned by Jalal's uncle, Ana Miah.
The group helps members to navigate their dual identities. "I always say to everyone, I'm Welsh first and I'm Bangladeshi second, because my mum and dad are from Bangladesh but I was born here...this is my home. We have our heritage which we love and respect but we want to be known as Welsh at the same time," said Jalal.
"When we were looking for that identity, it wasn't there when we were growing up. But now it's here - and that next generation, through Amar Cymru, have got an identity. They don't have to go with Joe Bloggs to the pub and have a soft drink and feel uncomfortable or worry about what they're wearing or if they've got time to pray. They can come with us and feel like they've kept their identity while being Welsh."
The seed for Amar Cymru was planted in 2016, when Jalal and Ana launched a football group called the Bengal Dragons to encourage south Asian people to play at a grassroots level. The club went from strength to strength.
Tamjid Miah, Ana's 25-year-old son who was also an instrumental part of the Bengal Dragons, said: "The club was progressing really well. But we also realised you don't see the attendance at football matches as well. A lot of the boys will support Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, but they won't support their local teams - they won't go and watch a game on a Saturday, for example."
The three of them sought to change that, and it's from this mission that Amar Cymru was born. It officially launched on June 20 last year - the day Wales played against Italy in the Euros - with about 40 people watching the game in the Juboraj.
Today the group comprises just over 100 members from all over Wales, including Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Tenby, Llanelli and they communicate via WhatsApp. One of those members is Cardiff resident Imran Ali, 31, who works in IT recruitment.
He said: "We all support football teams, but I feel like not most of us Asian people can say we've experienced a football match together. Amar Cymru allows people to have that atmosphere, that adrenaline in an actual match....and you can bond over that experience. I've only been in the group about around eight or nine months, but I've met people through it. It's allowed people to have real experiences together in football."
Its formation received support and funding from Fans for Diversity - a campaign fighting for diversity in football, administered by a partnership between the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) and Kick It Out - which is led by retired Premier League footballer Anwar Uddin. Fans for Diversity has given the group tickets for games so members can attend.
"For the first game after the the launch, Fans for Diversity gave us 35 tickets and ever since then they've been giving us about 20-30 tickets per game. I try to take a different group every time," said Jalal. "But the ones who initially went tend to buy their own tickets now. The system in place is that we take you to a stadium, make you feel welcome and then let you go by yourself. We always sit in a similar block, so when they buy tickets they know if they get a seat in that block, someone from Amar Cymru will be around."
The group also has the backing of the Football Association of Wales (FAW), where Jalal sits on the equality board. He relays his discussions with members of Amar Cymru and other communities to the FAW, so they can figure out what's stopping people from coming to matches.
"We've been trying to make it accessible for all now. First it [Amar Cymru] started as a small group of men, now we've got female participants, we've got children, we've got people who have got disabilities and FAW are doing everything they can do make it accessible for them," he said. He added that FAW CEO Noel Mooney has also turned up to some of Amar Cymru's events.
On September 25 - the day Wales played against Poland - Amar Cymru and FAW opened a multi-faith room at Cardiff City Stadium. About 50 people used it on the first day alone. "There's no excuse now not to go to the stadium. As a Muslim sometimes you'd be thinking: 'Okay, I've got two prayer times now during the game - do I go to the game or do I sit at home?" said Jalal.
Since its inception, the group has attended all the World Cup qualifiers for Wales, and they are currently flying the flag for Wales at the World Cup in Qatar. They have arranged events for the tournament, both back home and in Qatar, which have been backed by the Welsh Government. A week before the World Cup began, the group played against Amar England, its sister network which was set up at the start of this year.
The group also held a women's only night at the Juboraj for its female members on Monday, the day Wales played against the USA. In Doha, after the Wales vs Iran game on Friday, November 25, Amar Cymru is holding a dinner for Welsh and Iranian fans, as well as some delegates from the British Embassy.
And for Wales' clash with England on November 29, members of Amar Cymru will be watching the game from three locations - in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport - via Zoom, so those in Qatar and those at home will be digitally connected during the highly anticipated match.
For Jalal, Amar Cymru is about redefining the Red Wall for the better. "A lot of people talk about Amar Cymru moving away from the Red Wall...But I tell everyone we're no different to the Red Wall. We don't want to take anything away from the Red Wall. If anything, we want to add a brick to it and put our own identity into the wall."
Support Wales in the 2022 World Cup here.
Read next:
- Wales fans gatecrash packed American bar and go absolutely mad when Gareth Bale scores
- Caravan owners fear they will be forced to quit holiday park over £2,000 ground rent increase
- Sam Warburton calls for Welsh rugby to be ripped apart and dragged out of 'Stone Age'
- Man behind £300m adventure resort in the Valleys plans to open in four years
- Three years of Wayne Pivac as Wales boss: What he's actually done, the mistakes made and the players who've come and gone
