Shrewsbury Town: Mal Benning working to improve representation within football
Shrewsbury defender Mal Benning has once more been out in the community working to improve representation within minority groups.
The Salop full-back has long been an advocate working towards increasing the presence of the South Asian community within football.
The 31-year-old is currently in the middle of some time off from football, just like the rest of the Shrewsbury squad as they gear up for life in League Two which gets under way at the start of August.
But during his time off he has attended a South Asian emerging talent festival as a guest of honour.
Held at Loughborough University more than 400 under-8s and under-9s were part of the tournament, and Benning says he wants to see another player featuring in the Premier League soon.
“Festivals like this will hopefully show the talent that’s out there in South Asian lads and find the next big thing,” he said.
“I’d love to see another South Asian player in the Premier League. There’s some good talent out there; hopefully, some get picked up by the academy system and they can get involved at the next level.”
Benning joined Anwar Uddin MBE, the first person of Bangladeshi heritage to play professionally in England, he now works for The FA as diversity and inclusion manager.
He said: "To give grassroots players an experience like this is amazing. It’s about playing at every level, any level, working in the game, being a referee, coach or working in the admin side of the game.
"Football has so many opportunities and I think the door is open to those who are hard-working and believe in themselves.”
Benning made 49 appearances for Town last season across all competitions, scoring three goals. He signed a two-year contract at Salop back in the summer of 2024 so goes into the final year of his deal at the Croud Meadow.
