Mal Benning is to receive the football pioneer accolade at this month’s Asian Football Awards after reaching a landmark 500 professional appearances and using his platform to champion greater representation for British South Asians in the game.
The former Mansfield Town and Port Vale defender achieved the milestone on Valentine’s Day last season, a feat reached by very few British South Asians in English football.
Benning began his senior career with Walsall under Dean Smith during the 2012/13 campaign, later spending time on loan at York City before joining Mansfield in 2015. Affectionately known as ‘Sir Mal’ by the Stags faithful, he made 251 appearances for the club across six seasons.
His Mansfield career included a goal against local rivals Chesterfield in April 2018. Yet one of his most memorable moments came against his former side, when he completed the scoring in Port Vale’s 3-0 League Two play-off final victory at Wembley.
Benning has also become an influential voice on the experiences of South Asians and the Sikh community in football.
“I don’t care that it’s me – it could have been anyone – but for the Sikh community, as well as South Asians in football, that was a massive step,” he said after the match.
Sky Sports co-commentator Jobi McAnuff described Benning as a pioneer who had “been flying the flag for many, many years”, while praising his performance against Mansfield.
The sixth Asian Football Awards will be held in London on Tuesday 29 September at The Clementine, Syon Park. The event was established to recognise South Asian achievement across the professional and grassroots game. ([asianfootballawards.com](https://www.asianfootballawards.com/?utm_source=openai))
Hamza Choudhury makes winning Sheffield United debut
Hamza Choudhury made an immediate impact at Sheffield United, completing the full 90 minutes at right-back as the Blades edged Bolton Wanderers 3-2 on Transfer Deadline Day.
The Bangladesh international joined Chris Wilder’s side permanently from Leicester City just a day earlier, ending a 21-year association with the Foxes.
Choudhury made 166 senior appearances for Leicester and was part of the squad that won the club’s first FA Cup in 2021. He also featured 34 times in the Championship during the 2023/24 title-winning campaign and captained the side on several occasions.
His final Leicester appearance came in a 2-1 defeat by Burton Albion, the club for whom he made his EFL debut during the first loan spell of his career more than a decade ago.
The move to Bramall Lane reunites Choudhury with Wilder, who managed him during a loan spell at Watford in 2022/23. Choudhury made his Bangladesh debut in March 2025.
Mariam Mahmood creates Wrexham history
Mariam Mahmood has become the first women’s footballer to be added to Wrexham’s international honours board after representing Pakistan.
The 22-year-old joins a list that includes club greats such as Joey Jones, Dai Davies and Kieffer Moore, and is only the second British South Asian to receive the honour after former Wales full-back Neil Taylor.
Taylor began his professional career at Wrexham in 2007 and went on to win 43 caps for Wales.
Mahmood, a former West Brom attacker, made her Pakistan debut during Asian Cup qualifying in Indonesia last year. She has scored three goals in six international appearances and most recently represented the Shaheens at the FIFA Series in Ivory Coast in April.
Amit Bhatia attends first Liverpool match as investor
Amit Bhatia attended his first Liverpool match since the consortium he leads agreed to acquire a 38 per cent stake in the club.
The British Indian entrepreneur was at Anfield with his family for Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest after being invited by Fenway Sports Group principal owner John W Henry.
The agreement with 1892 Holdings includes investment from Bhatia, the Mittal family trusts, K5 Sports and EE Capital. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the lead investor in the K5 fund, while Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is also involved.
Fenway Sports Group said it would retain majority ownership and operational control of Liverpool, with completion of the transaction subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. ([liverpoolfc.com](https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/fsg-announces-strategic-minority-investment-liverpool-fc?utm_source=openai))
Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, is expected to take a seat on Liverpool’s board as vice-chairman once the deal is ratified.
“It’s the biggest and the greatest football club in the world. So to in any way be associated with it, it is the stuff of dreams,” Bhatia told Liverpool’s in-house television channel.
