Derby County footballer Kira Rai hopes to inspire more Punjabi girls to pursue a career in football after reaching 100 appearances with the club earlier this season.
With the 2024/25 football season officially underway, Derby County Women look to make a strong push for promotion, with a squad of players determined to fulfil this ambition.
Leading the charge is Kira Rai, a winger who brings both flair and relentless determination to her childhood club.
Rai’s journey with the Ewe Rams began when she joined the club’s under-10s team, and she eventually became the first Punjabi player to represent Derby County and score at Pride Park Stadium.
Having recently made her 100th appearance for the club, Rai has become a pivotal player on the pitch – scoring the winning goal against West Bromwich Albion Women at the start of September, and also netting Derby’s opening goal of the season against Sporting Khalsa Women.
Off the pitch, Rai’s impact extends beyond football. As a prominent South Asian player, she serves as a role model for aspiring athletes in the Sikh community and beyond, promoting diversity in a traditionally underrepresented field.
She said: “I’ll go into schools, and I’ll be the first footballer of a South Asian heritage that they’ve ever seen, and I’ll tell them I play football. And their faces are like, what?
“It’s almost foreign for them to see that a South Asian girl can play football. So I think for me, my biggest thing is normalising the fact that I’m South Asian, Punjabi Sikh, and I play football, but it shouldn’t be that.
“It should just be that I play football because I love it.”
The 25-year-old was awarded for her contribution to sport as a British Sikh living in the UK in 2023, and she continues to champion diversity to inspire the next generation of Sikh athletes.
Rai said: “Just because you’re a girl, just because you’re Punjabi, Sikh, whatever it may be, doesn’t mean you can’t play football.
“Football’s a sport for everyone. I think everyone knows that. So I think for me, my main thing is if I can encourage them to play football and get involved, that’s my job done.”
Discussing the evolving landscape of inclusivity in football, she highlighted the positive changes made by the sport, but also its need for broader systemic changes.
“I think you are seeing more change. Like I said, there are more South Asian girls playing football at a level than I’ve ever seen when I was growing up.
“But I think for things to change fully, people behind the scenes, off the pitch, have to change.
“It has to be more representative of the community and of society. And I think hopefully when that happens and all the organisations work together, we’ll see more change on the pitch.”
The winger, who is sponsored by supporter group The Punjabi Rams, said her Sikh faith has helped her ‘persevere through the hard times’ in her football career, and she is now focused on encouraging young girls to aim for the highest levels in their sporting journeys.
She said: “When I leave the game, hopefully there’s not just one or two of us, there’s a whole handful of us, and we’re not having these conversations anymore because it’s so normal that girls play football.”
Building on her recent successes, including winning the FA Women’s National League Plate with Derby for the first time in their history, Rai is now setting her sights on achieving promotion with Derby from the FA Women’s National League North Division.
As Derby County Women strive for success this season, Rai stands out not only for her footballing ability, but also for her role in championing greater representation and inclusivity in football.
Feature image credit: Terri Lee photos
