England’s first Tamil footballer aims for the top

Managers at Barnsley recognized they had discovered a unique ability when Vimal Yoganathan onto the field for the first time.

In addition to his speed, mentality, and ability to play with both feet, the 18-year-old is acclaimed for other qualities.

Vimal, one of the few South Asian football players working in the top four divisions, is the first Tamil player to play professionally in England.

“Being a role model will be a big part of being a footballer,” he adds. “Hopefully I can do that and inspire younger players coming through – especially Tamil people.”

The midfielder was raised in the small north Wales community of Trelawnyd, and his family is from Sri Lanka.

He claims that as a youngster, “it was a bit difficult” at times since he didn’t have many peers from a similar background.

Although his family was accepted by the town, he tells BBC Asian Network that “there weren’t people you could 100% relate to in terms of fitting in to a predominantly white area.”

He was soon noticed by Liverpool, the team he grew up with, and by the time he was eight, he had joined their academy.

He later joined and progressed through the levels of Barnsley’s under-16 team.

He made his debut for the Welsh national team’s under-19 squad earlier this year, substituting in during a match against Belgium, and scored his first senior goals for the League One team in August.

According to Bobby Hassell, the academy director at Barnsley, Vimal’s height of 6′ 3″ (191 cm) wasn’t the only thing that made him stand out, but it certainly helped.

“He came in at 15 years old, a tall, gangly, skinny lad – didn’t look like a footballer at all in all honesty,” according to him.

“What truly stood out to all the coaches was his aggression.

“You don’t generally find 15-year-olds coming in and tackling like he did.”

Only 22 South Asian-born professional athletes who were at least 17 years old played in England’s top four leagues in 2023.

That amounts to around 1% of the 5,000 professional football players in the United Kingdom.

Those numbers from the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) were relatively modest, but they did represent a 29% increase over the previous season, when there had only been 17.

“Whenever I’d step onto an academy pitch, I’d be the only brown player and obviously the only Tamil player,” Vimal adds.

“It almost became normal to me – but that has to change.”

Vimal has received assistance in his career thus far from the PFA’s Asian Inclusion Mentoring Scheme (AIMS), which was introduced in 2021.

“It shows me how many brown players there are in the game,” he continues.

“And it’s grown as well – it’s good to see.”

Bobby claims that he knew Vimal was under additional pressure to represent the British Asian community.

“I understand the difficulties in terms of families allowing young players to play soccer,” he states.

According to Vimal, there is a misconception that Asian parents in Britain would rather their kids concentrate on their academics.

“I think the thing that scares a lot of parents is the risk,” he states.

“You put a lot of hours and a lot of dedication into becoming a footballer but there’s no guarantee.”

He considers himself extremely fortunate to have had supportive parents.

“Being a footballer wasn’t only my dream,” he recalls. “It was also theirs.”

Bobby believes that Vimal is “certainly showing the way” for families in terms of the available opportunities.

“I think they can look now and see kids don’t just need an education,” he asserts.

“There is a pathway in football.”

A generation of icons

Vimal avoids using the term “trailblazer” when discussing his accomplishments to date and plans.

He claims that football is his top priority. It “should just come naturally” to be an example.

However, “humble” is one word that Barnsley’s sporting director Mladen Sormaz uses to characterize Vimal.

“There aren’t a tonne of role models,” he asserts.

“But I think this is the generation where we’re going to start seeing icons.”

He says Vimal “has everything in terms of the tools to become a top-level professional” and envisions a bright future for him.

“All he needs now is the pathway and a little bit of luck.”

Mladen recalls how, as he grew older, the number of British Asian children joining in for a kickabout gradually decreased over his upbringing.

He thinks Vimal and other players could assist keep them in the game.

“It’s just having role models out there, seeing people do it successfully,” according to him.

“I’m hoping Vimal will be among them.

“As a representative, he’s shown that he’s quite keen to take that on for the community.”