Middlesex become first county side to sign Muslim Athlete Charter

Signing up to the charter will help the county to better understand the needs of its Muslim players and followers, said a club statement

Middlesex have become the first county side to sign the Muslim Athlete Charter in "a firm commitment to supporting the wider work the club is doing around diversity and inclusivity".

It marks the first step towards being fully accredited with the Nujum Sports Muslim Athletes Charter, which the county describes as a move towards strengthening "its voice and zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination".

Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are among the organisation's cricket ambassadors, while Nujum – which has multiple football clubs from across Europe onboard as well – has also supported Azeem Rafiq.

"The charter is a positive move towards the club building a greater understanding of the needs and requirements of its Muslim players and followers," a statement explained, adding that it would "help the club learn, listen, and adopt best practice to help its players flourish and its fans feel valued, loved, and supported."

Nujum chief executive Ebadur Rahman, who founded the organisation, said: "Having signed the charter, Middlesex Cricket is joining a positive movement of solidarity, equality, and recognition of the contribution Muslims make in their respective clubs and teams."

In 2019, Middlesex launch its own diversity and inclusion plan which included setting up the same whistleblowing hotline that Yorkshire, other clubs and the England and Wales Cricket Board have since implemented. Internal training for staff, players and coaches regarding the EDI plan has also begun.

They have relationships with each of the 130 clubs within the local area, with 60 per cent of the players described as being from culturally diverse backgrounds.

More recently, the club reached out to 250 past Middlesex players with a confidential survey asking them to highlight any historical issues and have formed focus groups with ex-Asian academy pathway and second-team players who have dropped out of the system.

^{Middlesex are the first county side to sign up to the Muslim Athlete Charter (Philip Brown/Getty Images)}

Ankit Shah, co-chair of the county's diversity and inclusivity committee, added: "We are absolutely focused on learning all that we can in our quest to make Middlesex a wholly inclusive club.

"There is a lot of good work already happening, however there is much still to be done if we are to reach our goals, and the signing of this charter is a significant step towards us getting there.

"This is not about us promoting cricket, this is about us showing that cricket is a game that is welcoming and can be enjoyed by everyone at all levels.

"Making this commitment will assist us greatly in ensuring that the steps we are taking have a positive and valuable impact on the lives of those in the game, and I couldn't be prouder that Middlesex has followed many leading organisations in other sports in signing the pledge."

Last month, Mike O'Farrell, the club's chair, was widely criticised following comments made at a DCMS committee hearing.

Asked about the club's record on diversity and inclusion, he said it was difficult to retain youngsters up the ranks. After stating that 57 per cent of Middlesex's youth players under the age of 17 are from culturally diverse backgrounds, he produced a clumsy explanation for why that figure isn't upheld further up the system, suggesting that football and rugby become "much more attractive to the Afro-Caribbean community" and that sometimes "cricket becomes secondary" to education for South Asian youngsters.

He subsequently issued an apology for his remarks.