Rabiya Ahmed from Preston, Lancashire, was awarded the monthly Barclays Community Sports Award by Barclays Spaces for Sports, the Premier League's Creating Chances programme and the Football Foundation.
At only 18 years of age, Rabiya Ahmed has already dedicated two years to the Fishwick Rangers Youth & Community Development Scheme based in Preston. The scheme provides a range of interests to disadvantaged people in the local community - giving them a productive way to spend their free time and improve their fitness. One of the activities provided to the youth of Preston is an Asian female football team, which Rabiya manages single handedly.
She began volunteering at Fishwick Rangers aged 16 and went on to gain qualifications in both Sports Leadership and Football Coaching. Thanks to her hard work and determination, around 20 Asian girls aged 7 to 12-years-old now meet each week to train and take part in competitive matches.
As well as coaching the team and managing the administration side, Rabiya is a role model for the children she trains. She provides them with advice and support in all areas and dedicates most of her spare time to organising matches, enabling young Asian women to take part in a sport they may previously have felt excluded from. Her enthusiasm and success has also inspired a number of other young people to volunteer at Fishwick Rangers.
On top of her work with young people, Rabiya also delivered a 40-week scheme for Asian women in the local community that involves weekly swimming and fitness sessions in a female only environment, run by qualified instructors.
Winner Rabiya Ahmed commented: "It was a complete surprise to be nominated and an even bigger shock to win the Barclays Community Sport Award. I do the work because I enjoy it and to be recognized in this way for doing something I love is fantastic. The prize money means that the ladies football team can continue to grow as funding is essential to us, so the players are thrilled."
Fayyaz Ahmed, Secretary at Fishwick Rangers, said: "Rabiya has been a great benefit to our organisation as she has overcome major barriers within the community and cultural differences enabling young Asian females to volunteer and gain key skills and confidence. She alone managed to talk and persuade elders within the Asian community to allow their daughters to take part and assist within the community."
Gareth Southgate, who is heading up the judging panel for the award, said: "Rabiya Ahmed is an inspiration to young people in the UK. She saw a gap in the opportunities available for young Asian women in her local community and set up a women's football team that enables them not only to train and exercise weekly, but to work on important skills like team work and self confidence. She has also inspired her peers to volunteer their time to Fishwick Rangers, which is testament to the role model she has become in her community."
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