Aston Villa support PFA Asian Inclusion Mentoring Scheme

Aston Villa Academy players attended a ‘Player Development Day’ at St George’s Park earlier this month as part of the Asian Inclusion Mentoring Scheme (AIMS).

Over 90 British Asian academy, scholars and professional players from around the country came together for the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) event on Sunday, March 6.

AIMS was created to enhance the experience of British Asian footballers on the elite pathway by creating a structured network of support that allows them to thrive, and it counts former Villan Neil Taylor among the senior footballers mentoring scholars and emerging pros.

Villa’s group of players at the event included Arjan Raikhy, who enrolled in the programme when he began his scholarship with the club in 2019, and he’s now a role model for young players coming through the ranks.

The Development Day featured educational presentations, parent workshops and coaching sessions for the players led by England U17 Head Coach Tom Curtis.

Villa’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Lucy Keeling, was present at the event, and she reaffirmed the club’s support for the programme.

She said: “It was fantastic to join our young Academy players at the AIMS and was heartening to see so many clubs, families, young people and coaches support this fantastic scheme at the brilliant setting of St. Georges Park.

“The club is extremely proud to be supporting the PFA AIMS programme, and there are other opportunities we want to tap into moving forward through our Academy and EDI work.

“We always want to represent the diversity of our city. This often requires taking additional measures to increase representation and AIMS is a programme which reaches out and proactively addresses this.”