Surinder Sharma 

I joined the LRCFA Board in July 2020 as Chair of the Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG) and I was appointed as the Chair of the Board of the Association in June, 2021.

I was appointed as the first ever National Director, Equality & Human Rights for the Department of Health and the NHS. I have over 40 years of experience of leadership in achieving organisational cultural change and championing equity, fairness, diversity and inclusion. I am the Co-Director for the Unit for Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement, University of Leicester.

My career has spanned working in leadership roles for: a regulator at the Commission for Racial Equality, as a Commissioner for the Equal Opportunities Commission; in broadcasting at the BBC; in retail at Littlewoods; in manufacturing at the Ford Motor Company (Europe); in Pharma at Novartis AG, Switzerland; and in government at the Department of Health and the NHS.

I have served as an elected member on Leicester City Council, as a Justice of the Peace in Leicester, as the High Sheriff of Leicestershire, as a Trustee of UNICEF UK, and as a Member of Council Aston University. I serve on various organisations, including: Chair of Leicester Race Equality Council, the National Space Centre, Charity Link, the Phoenix Cinema & Arts Centre, Member of Council at Loughborough University and as an Independent Person for Leicestershire County Council and Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service.

Recognised for my service and appointed as the Deputy Lieutenant for Leicestershire, Honorary Alderman City of Leicester and awarded honorary doctorate degrees by Birmingham City University, De Montfort University, University of Leicester, Aston University and honorary professorships by Wolverhampton University and Manchester University Business School. 

Ken Horn

Working with nationwide partners in sport, Ken runs his own training company, helping young people into work and self-employment. Since 2012, the Kick Off in Business programme has helped over 10000 people in custody and across the community.

Ken has been involved in local sport for almost 50 years. He is pioneering the creation of a local sports alliance comprising over 20 clubs to increase participation, engagement and profile in his community. Ken is a member of the North West Leicestershire Club Engagement Group to broaden inclusion in the district and is the Disability Activator for both Ashby Sport and Ashby United Community Football Club.

Minesh Gupta

Minesh has spent 16 years in Public Services serving as a front-line Police Officer within Leicestershire Police and now works as an Account Manager. He is also a School Governor at Hallam Fields Primary School. Minesh has been a Football Referee for 24 years within Leicestershire & Rutland. He is an FA Tutor and tutors within two disciplines, Refereeing and Safeguarding. Minesh sits as a National Wing Member for FA Judicial services and hears Anti-Discrimination serious cases. Minesh has assisted the Leicestershire & Rutland County FA in reaching their Referee BAME targets with project related activity focusing on Referee Recruitment & Retention and is also an Independent member for Discipline cases at County level.

Jos Johnson

Jos has acquired 34 years’ experience in Local Government, specifying in leisure provision management across a number of public facilities. He has also been involved in grassroots football for 33 years as a player, coach with a UEFA B qualification and director of football. Jos is currently a panel member for the L&RCFA Independent Disciplinary Panel.

Terry Singh

Terry is a UEFA B license coach who has been involved with grassroots football, spearheading diversity and inclusion for over 30 years. His foundation into coaching started at Leicester city Football in the Community and he has worked tirelessly to support communities into football. Terry’s work has been recognised by the football governing bodies and he currently works as an FA Community Champion for diversity and inclusion. He is a qualified Youth Worker and FA Talent Scout.

 Ali Adnan

Ali is a young, ambitious, self-motivated and enthusiastic individual always looking to excel both on and off the pitch. With years and experience in project planning, risk management, dealing with stakeholders, coaching and youth development, he’s constantly looking to help others by providing opportunities to be a better version of themselves. Ali enjoys seeing the micro changes within individuals and feeds off that energy. Ali has served as a board member, been a part of the FA Youth Council at both national and local levels, involved in strategy and consultation reviews with organisations, and has set up a charitable organisation looking at working in disadvantage areas across Africa. Ali currently works at Leicester City in the Community looking after the flagship Premier League-funded Programme (Kicks) across Leicester and Leicestershire.

Paul Bup

Paul is a member of the John Maxwell Team, a global community of professionals who are genuinely committed to lead through positive influence.  He is also co-founder of Fire Mountain, a luxury chocolate company specialising in single-origin chocolate made from cacao grown in Cameroon. Paul has been combining a career in teaching Computer Science at Secondary School level with crafting fine chocolate since 2020.

 Paul is proactively engaged in building a socially inclusive and cohesive society.  He is a member of the African Network, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (ANLLR). The ANLLR empowers people of African heritage to have access to meaningful opportunities.  The value and benefit of inclusion in football has never been more important.  As a member of Leicestershire and Rutland County FA’s Inclusion Advisory Group, Paul will champion initiatives that foster equality and inclusion in the game and consider how these issues are being catered for in the wider community.

Dominic Clarke-Williams

Dominic is the Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Young Epilepsy and a volunteer at mental health charity, Borderline Support UK. Passionate about building better-connected communities and empowering people to fulfil their own potential, Dominic has spent his entire career striving towards providing equal opportunities for all. He is a big believer in the value of innovation, preferring to adopt a collaborative approach when developing policies and managing projects. Locally, Dominic has a rich history of involvement in grassroots sport, having worked with the media team at Leicester Tigers, studied for a PGCE (PE Specialism) and coached youth football at various levels.

Callum Prince

Callum has an extensive background in multiple sports from a young age. He is always looking at different ways to encourage anyone into local sports and help support their journey.

Being an openly LGBTQ+ grassroots footballer provides a unique opportunity to share his own experiences to help football become a truly more inclusive space for everyone, no matter their background.