October 30: Muslimah Sports Association (MSA) beat seven others in the running for Community Organisation of the Year at the 12th annual National Diversity Awards, Elham Asaad Buaras reports for Muslim News, UK on Friday.
Community organisations and role models from across the UK headed to the Liverpool Cathedral on September 15 to witness the country’s 2023 winners being crowned the best of British diversity.
MSA has continued to excel and champion Muslim female representation in sport since its inception in 2014, whether that is at the participation level, increasing the workforce, or representing at an executive level. MSA has made a positive impact on the community, not only in terms of physical wellbeing but also mental wellbeing.
MSA has engaged with over 1,500 participants, created over 100 coaches from diverse communities across a range of sports, and supported national governing bodies and stakeholders to better engage with females and create better and more accessible opportunities in sport. MSA has grown organically, gaining charity status in 2019, and now offers over 15 sports a week, including badminton, basketball, netball, karate, football, and tennis.
Participants could try a range of sports because safe environments are created by MSA. Participants have gone on to pursue their sports outside of MSA and achieved many things beyond their expectations, making them exceptional role models.
The Association has won numerous awards since its inception, including the Faezeh Hashemi Award for Excellence in Sport at The Muslim News Awards for Excellence (2017), Rowing Project of the Year (2022), and the FA Grassroots Football Award (2019).
