Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
(Samajweekly) Manjeet Singh Ji, I am very grateful for giving your time for this interview. Please tell me about the early playing days.
In the late 60’s, it was just friends playing football after school/work and weekends in Victoria Park. As time passed, we started to losesome of ourplayers tothe two Punjabifootball teams in Leicester. I was also approached and played for GNG FC in summer tournament.
When and where was your1st football tournament in Leicester:
My 1st football tournament was at Knighton Park and I think it’s the first tournament GNG won in Leicester. We beat Birmingham Khalsa FC on penalties in the final.
Which TEAMS did you play for and in what position:
Most of my playing time I played on the right wing and also played as a sweeper for a short time for funin my late 30’s. After winning the Leicester tournament my brother entered a team (RBIX FC) in to City league division 7 so I went back to playing with my four brothers and old team mates. We won the division with me scoring in every game that season,we then went on to win the 5th division the next season.In1977 I went back to play for GNG FC and then moved to Spana FC for a period before returning to GNG where I managed the youth teams with Surinder Gill and also chaired the club for a short time.
Who were the best players during your playing days:
In the 70’s and 80’s, teams from Leicester, Birmingham, Derby and Coventry had some great individual playersthat were semi-professionals. There are too many to name to mention over this period.
Your favourite Leicester tournament and why:
My first tournament win with GNG FC is probably the one that I remember with some joy and pride.
Did you manage any football teams and how successful were they:
I managed number of GNG youth teams with the help of Surinder in 90’s. It was challenging transportingyoung players in a van to tournaments from Bradford to Gravesend. Our teams had quite a success in winning one or two tournaments out of the five organised nationally by KFF.
Did you serve on KFF committee:
Yes, my first involvement with KFF was after a Birmingham tournament where my 10-year-old son was injured by a 15-yearplayerfrom London playing in under 11’s group. I gathered all the youth team managers together and suggested that we needed tointerduce an ID system to police the over age player issues. I arranged a meeting at GTB Gurdwara in Leicester with mainly midland team managers attending to propose a plan to start the KFF youth section. We introduced a registration system where the youth players had to produce a passport or photographed ID proof for registration. I served as the KFF youth secretory for five yearswith the big help Gurdeep from Coventry (GNP), Rasham from Bedford (GNG), Guy from Gravesend (GNG), Nazar Sing from Birmingham (BDS) and the list goes on and on.
How has the FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTS changed over time:
I’ve had some involvement in organising and developing the Leicester football tournament over the years with big help from Davinder, Gurbinder, Kalvir, Bahji and Sewadars from GNG and GTB Gurdwarasfrom early 80’s to 2010. Mainly the two Gurdwaras financed the tournaments which cost around £5,000. During this period, we had some success in getting our youth players exposer to the professional football clubs by inviting their scouts to the tournaments and arranging friendly youth games at their grounds. The biggest change for me has been the ban of alcohol from the pitch side and the discipline brought on by the penalties imposed by KFF on the teams flouting the rules. The KFF youth tournaments now are a joy to watch and experiencethe family like atmosphere. The various KFF youth section officials over time have taken the tournaments to another level and it’s a credit to them and the club officials who have also played their roll in raising the bar. The recent introduction of the girl’s section is slowly taking over the tournament whereas the men’s adult section seems to be declining in numbers and interest.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
