Foxes have faith

Leicestershire CCC launches multi-faith area

Emdad Rahman

With the start of the NatWest T20 Blast campaign looming, Leicestershire County Cricket Club has embarked on a groundbreaking new initiative in visitor services with the launch of a multi-faith area for visiting fans. The space will be available for visitors to use from the first NatWest T20 Blast home game against Northants Steelbacks on Friday, 20th May.

Leicestershire County Cricket Club has engaged thoroughly with the local community to ensure that supporters have a positive experience at the ground. They have looked at the various needs of their spectators, including the needs of fans from various denominations. The multi-faith area will cater for everyone and will be based in the Mike Turner Cricket Centre for the coming new season. 

A multi-faith area was the brainchild of  Leicestershire CCC Chief Executive Wasim Khan MBE, who was keen to have such provision in place for the 2016 season.  The Foxes Community Engagement Officer Amna Rafiq has held consultation sessions with the local community and the facility has generally been well received. He said: “We know that faith is a vital part of life for many people and have consulted widely across the local community before launching our multi-faith area. Being a progressive club in a multi-cultural city, we wanted to give people the opportunity to be able to combine faith with coming to matches here at the Fischer County Ground. We look forward to welcoming everyone to the ground ahead of our NatWest T20 Blast campaign.”

Leicestershire County Cricket Club has been working closely with a number of faith organisations including the Leicestershire Faith Forum and the Muslim Sports Council, a national charity set up to advise and guide clubs and National Governing bodies on issues around faith and awareness.  

Resham Singh Sandhu MBE, Chair of the Leicestershire Faith Forum, said: “I congratulate Leicestershire County Cricket Club on taking an initiative to provide a room for prayer and quietness at the ground. This is a welcome sign to reflect to the world our shared values and appreciation the positive dimensions of diversity. This new approach will effectively raise the profile of the club and ultimately provides a platform for global engagement and a model of dynamic, diverse and multiculturalism. I wish the club well, bright future, good business and success.”

Abdal Ahmed, Head of Developments at the Muslim Sports Council, said: “It is great to see Leicestershire County Cricket Club leading the way on issues around faith and providing a dedicated area for supporters of all faiths to take some time out from the match if they wish to do so. The Club is all set for the new NatWest T20 Blast campaign, and along with the cricket we hope the supporters will also benefit from new facilities such as the multi-faith area.”

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