KICK IT OUT chair Sanjay Bhandari’s MBE last year was a reflection of not only his work with football’s anti-racism body but also of his determination to implement inclusion and diversity strategies in other organisations he has been a part of.
Bhandari had a 30-year business career in law, technology and compliance, including 12 years as a partner at international consultancy business EY. He was involved in their diversity and inclusion strategies, leading many of their award-winning race and ethnicity activities. At EY, he was a founding member and led their involvement in the Parker Review on ethnicity on UK Boards which encouraged FTSE 100 companies to have at least one British born director of colour by 2021 (which achieved over 90 per cent compliance).
Bhandari is also a board member at the Lawn Tennis Association and Greater Sport (the Local Active Partnership for Greater Man chester). Previously, he was a member of the Premier League’s Equality Standard Independent Panel for four years. Bhandari told the GG2 Power List that his desire to help others succeed comes from his own life experiences. “It’s just about trying to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed, no matter their background,” Bhandari said. “The fact that I came from quite a poor background was probably more of a battle than the disadvantages of race. Class disadvantages were even more stark and I felt lucky that I had interventions from teachers suggesting I should apply to scholarships for schools, or to go to this university. I was lucky that I acted on them. “I want to make sure other people also have these same opportunities – because my life could have been very different if other people hadn’t made those interventions for me.” Bhandari added: “It’s getting much harder for people from poorer backgrounds to succeed because I think the opportunities are getting less and less. Talent is distributed evenly, but opportunities are not.”
Bhandari said this applies across football as well, saying: “There is a stark lack of representation of south Asians in British football. Bhandari has been instrumental in bringing in new partnerships to Kick It Out, including a £4 million investment package from Sky. The partnership has supported several initiatives crucial to driving inclusion in football and tackling discrimination in all its forms, including a scholarship for students from under-rep resented backgrounds to enrol in a Football Industries MBA and educational content for clubs and fans, and boost annual transparency and insight reports on a range of issues relating to diversity, discrimination, and inclusion in sport.
