Celebrating three years of Brown Girl Sport, with the platform's founder, Miriam Walker-Khan

By website editor, Maryam Naz

We sat down with Brown Girl Sport founder Miriam Walker-Khan for an exclusive interview on the brains behind the operation and why South Asian representation in sport is more important than ever. 

Let's say someone’s just meeting you for the first time…how would you describe yourself to them?

​I’d say first and foremost I’m a storyteller. I’m passionate about all the different ways we can tell stories about sport. I thrive on creativity, and that's probably what's got me to where I am in the industry. I am very much an ideas person - as a journalist, but also in the role of founder of Brown Girl Sport. ** She looks off camera  ** Sorry I’m just watching the tortoises. They’re attacking each other over the same bit of lettuce!

Let’s talk about the thought process behind BGS. How did it come to fruition?

​I had wanted to do it for years, but just never really had the time. And then three years ago, I had two weeks off work between leaving the BBC and starting my role at Sky Sports. That's when it happened. I just was like, ‘wait, I can't actually just set this up’. 

I think the misconception is - and this is something I hear all the time from random people, I once heard it from a taxi driver - that there are no South Asian women in sport. And I'm like, ‘but there are!’. That's why we exist, right? It's frustrating to hear, but it's also what fuels BGS. Having worked in sports journalism for seven years already back in 2023 when I set up BGS, I just wasn't seeing the stories of South Asian women in sports media and this is why people think there aren’t any South Asian women in sport: their voices aren’t reaching those big platforms.​

To be honest, I do see it happening much more now; those stories are being told. Loads of journalists, producers and brands follow BGS and mirror our content - and ultimately, that’s exactly what we want! I really think BGS has made a difference when it comes to reminding people that South Asian women in sport exist. And I think it’s helped that a lot of people in my circles are media or journalism people, who won’t have been able to escape me shouting about it for the past three years! 

​It's been so empowering to show how many different South Asian women there are across various sports and tell those stories, which are so often truly beautiful stories of defiance. I genuinely think they're really inspiring, and they definitely inspire me. 

You've expanded into so many other avenues: fashion, culture, food, lifestyle. Because stereotypes don't just exist on the pitch, do they? They follow us in all facets of life. Tell us a little bit more about what that means to you.

​Exactly - stereotypes don't exist in a vacuum. To create a platform that breaks down an ecosystem of stereotypes was really important to me because it has wider implications. My dad was a footballer who came to Sheffield in the 70s from Pakistan. He played football and also coached, and through football, he was such an important part of the Pakistani community in Sheffield.​ The way that people talk about him, I know that he was really talented, but still, there were these stereotypes about South Asians not being able to play football because their diet was bad or they were too small or their parents wouldn’t let them. There are so many stereotypes that exist for South Asian athletes. The fact that we can help break those down on BGS in a very intentional, intersectional way is really important to me. 

​Can I ask about whether your own personal experiences in the industry as a brown woman have shaped the choices you’ve made for BGS?

I know so many women of colour in the sports media scene who've had horrible experiences of racism and/or daily micro-aggressions. Sometimes we’re trying to tell these stories, but can't get through to those in positions of power because stereotypes are weaponised against us during the pitching process. Which means the stories don't get told, and it also leaves us burnt, right? It is so important to me that we have a network of people who've been through those experiences to help prepare younger women entering the media for what it's actually like. I don't know any women of colour working in sports media who haven’t faced racism and discrimination.

I think it's important to also know that you aren't the only one, because often it can feel like an isolated experience. Did that influence the BGS naming process? Why BGS?

I guess there's something about the concept of girlhood that is really important to the platform. When I created Brown Girl Sport, I definitely wanted it to be for young people to see the role models whose stories weren’t being told anywhere else. And so many people message our Instagram page saying they wish they’d had something like this growing up, which is 100% how I feel after competing in sport for most of my life and never seeing another athlete with South Asian heritage. 

But as we’ve grown as a platform, my favourite thing about Brown Girl Sport is how multi-generational it’s become. At our events, there'll be a five-year-old from a football team chatting to a 30-year-old about their favourite player, then a 13-year-old running round collecting football stickers, and a 21-year-old having a heart to heart with a 50-year-old woman. And I’ll be frantically running around somewhere, most likely beefing with an Arsenal fan of any age.  It's just this beautiful melange of ages, experiences and connections between us. And I think we all need it, because none of us have ever had a space like it before. I honestly don’t think there’s anything like Brown Girl Sport in the world. 

The multi-generational aspect of Brown Girl Sport was something I really wanted to highlight on the illustration for our third anniversary, but didn’t know how… Until I went to the Hunza valley in Pakistan last year! 

During half-time of the women’s Hunza Premier League final, elders from the local villages came on the pitch to play in an open-goal penalty shootout. That image just stuck in my mind. There's something so beautiful and connected to the multi-generational vibes of Brown Girl Sport in that. As soon as I saw it I knew we had to put it on the third anniversary illustration. 

Three years in, do you ever look back and think: ‘I’m so glad I changed that’?

It still surprises me how organically Brown Girl Sport has grown. It only started off as a platform to tell stories. We definitely did that and more in the first year. The second year was all about creating physical communities, and that wouldn’t have been possible without spaces like Football Manager (shout out to Ricardo and Abi from Sports Interactive who made that happen) who provided us with safe spaces for events and panels and watch parties which is such a dream. 

Those events have been so special because a lot of the time, girls and women will come to us and say: ‘That was the first football watch party I've ever been to because it wasn't in a pub’. They've been excluded from those spaces so often, especially Muslim women, and it fills me with pride that we’ve been able to help change the culture in that way for those people. ​

The third year is all about how important our voice has become for people. What really cemented that for me was Farah Chowdhury’s open letter after an incident of racism from a content creator last year. The strength that I saw in Farah was such an inspiration to me - and it made me feel so much less isolated. Her open letter really changed the game, and I think it was an announcement of the fact that we aren’t afraid to use this platform to give people a voice, even if it’s uncomfortable. 

​There's a really lazy perception amongst some people who work in mainstream sports media - and think they’ve made the rules for what is deemed as ‘successful’ - that if you tell stories about diversity and inclusion issues, they won't do the numbers. That’s nonsense. Our most successful pieces have come from us speaking up on those issues, which shows how crucial our platform is when it comes to speaking about racism. 

What does the next phase of BGS look like for you? Or is that a bit of a secret?

No, we can talk about it! Since 2023, I’ve been running Brown Girl Sport alongside a full-time job and I wasn’t able to throw all my energy into it. It was quite steady and slow, which I think was important in how organically it’s grown. But for the past two months, I have been able to put a lot of time and care into it - as have you, Maryam! - to create huge moments, produce an exciting new project that I’ll be able to talk about very soon, and crucially, build a proper strategy. ​

​You’ve touched on impact. But, how do you measure something that isn’t quantifiable? Are you able to measure the changes in representation? Do you have a feel for it?

Sometimes it is just about how it makes you feel and what it gives you, how it feeds your soul -  which sounds so wanky, but that’s what it feels like. I only got into journalism because I wanted to tell stories that properly represented marginalised groups, and told the stories that weren’t being told anywhere else. I’ve been lucky enough to build my whole career on that, and have told those stories on some of the biggest platforms in the world. 

The fact that I also get to do that with BGS, but experience that joy myself through it as a community too, is so special. I’m proud of a lot of things in my career, but Brown Girl Sport is the best thing I’ve ever worked on. 

​You’re the founder of BGS. Tell us the struggles of being the boss from the perspective of being in charge of everything.

It’s tough. All of it is really new to me. I see so many people creating things online, and so few people talk about the challenges that come with building something. Having to be a social media manager, a video editor, a writer, a presenter, an events organiser and marketeer in one is chaos. The instability is hard too, a few brands I used to really love have let us down in a big way which is quite disheartening because of what BGS is about. And then there are people who exploit and just want to tick a box - maybe for South Asian Heritage Month once a year, but they don’t actually want to contribute to the cause. That’s draining to deal with. I do love all the different roles I get to do with BGS, but it’s not sustainable and ultimately, we need some funding or investment so we can pay people and can then properly rely on people too. 

​​​What about your own journey? Have you mentally grown as BGS has?

Absolutely. And that’s because there have been some really incredible people who have worked with Brown Girl Sport. People who have given up their time and energy, like India Bharadwaj or Zohaib Rashid from Desi Ballers or Nadia Shahrestani from Chelsea. Like you, Maryam Naz!! Reshma Rao who is helping lead our tennis project with the LTA. Like my fiancée Liz Ward, who gives SO much time to Brown Girl Sport! You have to surround yourself with people who are genuinely passionate and will be there for you, and I’m so lucky to have people like that in my life. 

On the flip side, there must be moments where you feel like you really achieved something. What’s been that moment for you?

The event we hosted at Chelsea for our first anniversary two years ago is probably my highlight. That wouldn’t have been possible without Nadia Shahrestani who I am so grateful for. And that’s exactly why we’re going back there for our third anniversary event! The club has continued to help us and always goes the extra mile to make those events the best they can be. 

​If BGS continues to be successful, how will you know? In five years' time, what will taxi drivers be saying instead of ‘but there are no South Asian women in sport’? What would be the best-case scenario?

​In an ideal world, we will be helping out with participation levels and talent identification as well as growing our audiences and growing as a platform. I just want us to keep changing perceptions, keep challenging the madness that exists in sport and keep using our collective voice as a community. 

What would you say to any brown women in sport, any South Asian girls reading this interview who need to hear something supportive?

​Sport is for you. We've been told all our lives, by society and sometimes by people directly, that it's not a space for us, but it is. Be bold in the belief that it is. You’re entitled to everything everyone else is - whether it’s a voice, representation, a role model, confidence, an opinion or just a space to watch the footy with your mates that’s not in a pub. Sport is for you, and it always will be. ​​