Layla Banaras: faith, football, and fearlessness

By website editor, Maryam Naz

Miriam Walker-Khan and Nailah Gajia sat down with Brown Girl Sports athlete ambassador Layla Banaras as part of the new Brown Girl Sport: Recorded podcast. The Lewes FC centre-back has her sights set on transforming the landscape of women’s football and the South Asian diaspora one game at a time, through her faith as a Muslim, as well as playing for the Pakistan national football team.

“I’ve got a little bit of brown in me”

Banaras grew up in a mixed-race household: half-Pakistani, half-English. Her mother converted to Islam after marrying her father, which added another layer to her identity. 

“I think with religion, you’re born into it; it’s one of those things that you find in yourself. In the last couple of years, I’ve done that. I didn’t even think I was mixed-race. I’d look in the mirror and think: ‘I’ve got a little bit of brown in me’.

“It’s one of those things you have to navigate, knowing where to belong because you don’t want to be ‘too white’, or ‘too Asian’. You don’t want your white friends to be thinking that you're hanging out with your Asian friends too much, you don’t want your Asian friends to think you’re hanging out with your white friends too much. You overthink everything! My family are really supportive of everything I've done, and it’s never been a barrier or an issue for me”.

Off the pitch, Banaras has been just as impressive. As a teenager, she created a Ramadan nutrition guide to support Muslim athletes.

“When I was 13, I first started fasting properly. I just automatically thought I could do it alongside football and go into the FA. But they didn't really have anything, which was shocking because there are a lot of male Muslim players in the Premier League. But it turns out they have internal nutritionists and just do it all themselves.

“So there wasn't anything out there [for Muslim women]. That's when I thought I needed to do something for other people who don't have personal nutritionists to help them make a meal plan and know what to eat. I think that was a big barrier in my journey.

“It was also about finding what was right for me. In my nutrition plan, there's loads of different options. So on game day, I'm going to have more carbs early in the morning because I'm playing at 2pm, and I obviously won't eat or drink anything until then. On other days, I’d make sure I was eating the right things and logging it down to know when I felt better from what I ate”.

Banaras took the initiative to cultivate change by reaching out to club representatives.

​“I went to them first, and they were like, ‘we've never had a Muslim player before, so we actually don't know what to do’. They spoke to the CFA, and I worked with the nutritionists at Blues, who helped create the planner. I also did the Ramadan [meal-tracking] planner myself.

​“We do have it as a PDF, and I've also been into schools and handed them out. It's crazy; the FA use it, the PFA use it”.

Photo courtesy of Birmingham City FC

The Birmingham years 

Banaras started playing grassroots football at Solihull Moors for Birmingham at 8 years old and went on to make history in 2023 as the first women's South Asian heritage to represent the team in the club's professional era.

​“When I got scouted, it was unbelievable. I was asked to do a two-week trial and said, ‘I need to think about it.’ After that, I walked a few steps away, and my mum looked at me and was like, ‘what?’. And I said, ‘I don’t know why I said that’. I ran back and said, ‘yeah, I want to sign’. It was crazy”.

Once the initial excitement faded, Banaras realised there were very few South Asian footballers to model her career after.  

​“There were none on the team. Women's sport wasn't on TV as much either, so I didn't really see any representation there. But when I did sign, my family sat down and googled Muslim women players, and no one came up except Nadia Nadim, who used to play for Manchester City at the time. We were like, ‘my gosh, wow’. She was someone [like me]. She was someone that I did look up to, but I didn't really have anyone that I saw and thought: ‘Oh, I want to be like them’.

“I’m at this age now where I’m seeing young South Asian girls, Muslim girls playing football, and it makes me so happy. I never had any friends who were South Asian or Muslim who played football when I was younger. I was literally the only one. And I just want to show other girls that you can still be South Asian, be a Muslim, be mixed-race, and play football - even if you're not seeing it.

“The line is: ‘if you can't see it, then be it’. I just want to show people that you can”.

Kira Rai and Layla Banaras at Brown Girl Sport's third anniversary event, hosted by Chelsea Women FC

Banaras emulated her own sentiment when she became the first South Asian heritage player to represent the club in their professional era.

“Making my debut was incredible. It was in some Cup competition, I forget which one, but we were playing at Huddersfield Town. They were a few leagues below us, and I had a feeling like maybe I could make my debut today. All my family and friends came. When the manager called me over, he said, ‘get ready to go on’. Oh, I was panicking so much. I thought: ‘Layla, you need to lock in. You need to get on this pitch and not make any mistakes!’

“I came on for around 15 minutes at the end of the game. It was the best feeling. Being from Birmingham, actually being there for nine years at that time, and then finally making my debut? That's what the whole academy process was for - to get to that stage. I didn't actually know I was the first South Asian player until I saw the post. That's when I was like, ‘wow, that’s crazy’. Birmingham's such a diverse multicultural city, you would think there's been someone before me. But to be the first was amazing. I hope that pushes more girls to think: ‘she’s done it, so can I’.”

During her time at the club, Banaras also had the opportunity to play in several positions before she found her niche.

​“From a young age, I was always a fullback/wing-back. And then one coach just said to me, ‘you'd be an amazing centre-mid’. So I went there for one game, and I loved it. I feel like I've really found that was my position. Centre mid, box-to-box, a defensive mid - anywhere in the middle just feels so comfortable and natural, especially after being a wing-back for so long”.

Earlier this year, Banaras learned that she wouldn’t be getting the professional contract she had longed for and would have to consider moving away from everything she knew to be home.

​“That was hard for me at the beginning because I've never known anything else but this. It's always been a dream since I was 8 to go all the way through the academy and then get a professional contract.

​“Unfortunately, that's not the reality of football. And I think now, because the sport is growing, there's less space in first teams because players are coming from abroad. It’s good, it’s growing so much, but it leaves younger players in a…’what do we do next?’ mindset.

​“I feel like Lewes was the right decision, though. I needed to get into women's football properly, get into tier three, and also maybe away from the North.

“When I was with Wolves, that was in tier three North, so I knew quite a few of the teams and players. I just thought maybe I should step back from that league and come down south to experience something new. It's crazy, but definitely a move I needed to take for the next step in my journey. I feel like I needed to get out of that comfort zone. I'm really happy I've made that decision.”

“Representing Pakistan was a dream”

Alongside the move to Lewes, Banaras made another significant decision this year: choosing to represent Pakistan at an international level. In the 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers, she assisted multiple goals and announced herself as a rising star in the women’s game.

​“I got approached when I was 13 or 14. But I thought I was too young. So I left it for a few years. And then the Asian qualifiers came up [earlier this year], and I was like, ‘I'm just going to do it’.

​“The response was: ‘you need to get your passport, you need to get this and that’. Then it all just happened at once. I had to apply for a NICOP card and get all my relatives’ information. It's such a long process, but before I knew it, I was on the plane - literally the best decision I've ever made.

​“I also had Maz - Mariam Mahmood - with me. We were both doing it at the same time, which helped. She used to play for West Brom, so we knew of each other. It was incredible. And to do it with other people as well and not be alone, I feel like that was one of the things that was maybe holding me back. I just didn't know what to expect. Sharing that experience with other people was amazing”.

Banaras touched on a worry shared by many mixed-race individuals: a lack of confidence in belonging to either nationality.  

​“What if I go and they say you don't look Pakistani enough? Or you can't represent the country? Are people going to stare at me? Are they going to look at me weirdly? And…I don't think really any of that happened. I really overthought it. That's why my parents were a bit hesitant about me going when I was so young. I sat there thinking: ‘have I done the right thing?’. But once I got there, that all went out the window. I don't really think anyone looked at me twice.

​“When I got back, it just felt like it wasn't real. I felt like I hadn’t just been away for two and a half weeks, from Pakistan to Indonesia. It felt like a dream. The games flew by, and I made some amazing memories that I'll never forget. My eyes have definitely been opened”.

Banaras spoke warmly of her Asian Cup debut and how it felt to represent her country with family watching from the sidelines.

​“It was a big build-up. We trained in Pakistan for about a week, then went on to Indonesia. I was really nervous when I woke up that morning; I put a lot of pressure on myself. But sometimes pressure is good. Once I got there and relaxed a bit more, I just forgot about that. My family were watching at home, and then I saw my shirt on there with the number five on the back, which was just so special.

​“My dad also traveled out, and he had his little Pakistan flag. When I was warming up, and I saw him enter, I just thought: this is why I'm doing it. That's my reason why. And once I got onto the pitch, I forgot about everything and just played. It was just such an unbelievable feeling hearing the national anthem as well.

​“I didn't realize till I got back into the UK that one of the videos had millions of views. I thought: what's going on? What's happened here? And then I've got all these Pakistani news channels reaching out, wanting me to do interviews. I did a few; it was crazy, genuinely crazy”.

“Take every opportunity and keep pushing”

BGS is fast becoming a platform for giving brown women a safe space to speak their piece. Banaras is of the same mindset.

Layla has been named as one of five sportswomen who are the first Brown Girl Sport athlete ambassadors. Shot by India Bharadwaj and styled by Aartthie Sashi Mahakuperan

​“Quite a lot of people don't have a voice in this world, and everyone needs one, and they should use it to speak on what they believe.

“If I have the platform to say that, then people deserve to hear it and be aware of certain things. Say in the [case of the] leggings, maybe someone wears leggings or wants to wear leggings, but they haven't seen anyone do it, and they see me, and they're like: ‘okay, I can do it’. Or people that have someone on their team who wears a hijab and they're curious, and then they've seen this video and think, ‘okay, this is why’.

​Joining BGS as an athlete ambassador was about so much more than just repping her talent.

​“When I was little, if I saw a platform called ‘Brown Girl Sport’, I'd be like, ‘wow, this is incredible’. So that's why I didn't even think twice. It's so incredible to see people's journeys and stories. I'm hoping other girls are going to see this platform and think, ‘they're all doing it, so can I’ - just like I did with Nadia Nadim.

​“I want to be that representation and also keep that dream alive of being that little girl who wanted to be a professional footballer. Hopefully, I’ll keep going until I get to that level”.

Layla Banaras wearing Indian designer, Pinanki as part of the Brown Girl Sport ambassador launch shoot, featured in Glamour magazine

​Banaras finished on a strong note. Her message to young Muslim or South Asian girls who were listening to and reading her podcast was one of passion and fervour.

​“Just do it. I know it's so easy to say, but genuinely, if you want to do something, don't let anything hold you back from dreaming big. If you put in the hard work and the effort, you can do whatever you put your mind to. Be the reason to do it. If you're not seeing people doing it, be the person who wants to do it and wants to show people you can. Push yourself and just go for it because the worst that can happen is you don't, but at least you tried.

​“I just think back to the young Layla that used to play in the garden, first signed for Birmingham and was wearing the kit so proudly. I think of how that was her dream. And that's the same me; I don't feel that dream will ever die. During the bad days, I always think: ‘you're in a position that some girls would die to be in’. I tell myself you’ve just got to take every opportunity and keep pushing.

​“If I didn't train well or I'm not in the starting XI, I switch the mentality back to being like, ‘I've come so far and not to let that little girl down that had that big dream of being a professional footballer’.