LEADERBOARD
The Sporting Equals LeaderBoard Programme is an incredible three day programme run both in England and Scotland to champion ethnic diversity in sports boardrooms across the UK. We caught up with two LeaderBoard Alumni Ravi Tara, who has recently been appointed to the Leicester City Fan Advisory Board around his experience on the programme and Javan Odegah - Strategic Partnerships Manager at Leaders in Sport.
Javan's LeaderBoard Testimonial
Ravi's Testimonial
What was your favourite part of the LeaderBoard programme ?
Developing a diverse network of people with differing levels of involvement in sports from athletes, sports professional and directors, lifestyle coaches, sports coaches, grass roots and those new to sports management. This network is live and continually grows. The key feature being that we all seek to help others into new roles and opportunities. The key thing that the programme gave me was a spring board to take action. I saw a range of people and presenters who I resonated with and saw what they were doing. Within minutes I knew that “I can do that”, so I did.
What about Leicester City FC made you want to be on their board?
I have been fortunate to have been offered several opportunities, most of which were not right for me. Leicester City Football Club combines two fundamental aspects of my life: my love of football and my love for the city in which I was born and raised. Leicester City has always been part of my life, my first ever match was at Filbert Street, I have known several players at differing stages of their journey from youth to the first team with the club, I have been in and around the club both personally and professionally for a number of years. Leicester City FC are regularly quoted as a beacon for how a professional football club should be run, a family club. So when the opportunity came, to make a difference, it complimented my own beliefs and was something that I could only say yes to.
Why would you encourage others to take part in the LeaderBoard programme?
Encouraging those with diverse backgrounds into key roles in all sports is very important to me. The UK has great diversity of thought, background, perspective, race, religion, gender amongst many other elements. We are blessed to be able to experience this in our daily lives and the same should be reflected in professional sports. The LeaderBoard programme provides a platform to help us achieve this goal and brings together professionals, academics, sports people and those from non-sports backgrounds in a way that few other programmes can.
