Swansea City’s Bashir Humphreys and Luke Williams celebrate Iftar at the Swansea.com Stadium

Swansea City defender Bashir Humphreys and head coach Luke Williams celebrated Iftar on April 3 as the club and Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) hosted a fast-breaking event at the Swansea.com Stadium.

The evening was opened by SRtRC campaign manager for Wales Dean Pymble, before teenager Ahmed Rasalan recited the Holy Quran.

Humphreys and Williams then answered questions from event-goers before taking the time to speak to people individually, signing autographs and posing for photos.

After breaking fast shortly before 8pm, Humphreys joined the Muslim community for prayer pitchside, before a full meal was provided for everyone in attendance.

Humphreys believes gatherings like Wednesday's can help inspire young footballers of the future, and bring the Swansea community closer together. 

“This event is so special,” said the centre-half.

“You don’t see as many Muslims as you’d want to see within the football industry, so I think events like this are really important.

“A few of the boys and girls here said they are aspiring footballers, and I think it’s important for them to see someone with a similar background to them doing what they want to be able to do when they are older.

“I’m not saying I am that guy, but if it’s possible to be an inspiration for young people and inspire them to achieve what they want to achieve, then that’s great.

“Football is such an inclusive sport, anyone can play it, it doesn’t matter how old you are, which community you’re from, which gender, and it’s important that we work on being more inclusive.

“Some people might have thought in the past that they couldn’t get involved because of their ethnicity, and that’s a lost opportunity. As time goes on, we want more people to be involved in football and that will improve the sport for the better.

“If anyone thinks they can’t play football, I’d say to throw that thought out of the window.”

Humphreys has been fasting throughout Ramadan – something he has done since he was a child – so, while he is fully aware of how to balance his faith and his football, he has also been grateful for the amount of support he’s received from the community throughout the Islamic holy month.

“I’m the only Muslim player on the first team,” he added.

“Even when I was coming through academies, I was usually the only one in my team. But I don’t mind that, I like it when people ask me questions about my faith, I like it when people are curious. I like give people information.

“I’ve had so much support from teammates and football clubs. The community of football has been amazing, my coaches have been all over it nutrition-wise and supporting me. It’s been really good.”

The event had almost double the number of attendees from the inaugural event in 2023, and Pymble believes it’s another important step in creating a more inclusive game for all members of the Swansea community.

“I think the event went really well. We had larger numbers, which is great to see,” Pymble said.

“It’s really shown the need for more events like this, which provide a platform for players and show representation. That’s why it was great to hear Bashir speak about his journey as a Muslim in football, and to hear the young people ask questions to him and the head coach.

“Swansea City is a hub, there are lots of positive role models in the squad and the brand of Swansea City is so important to the community. 

"It’s important that everyone – no matter their background – sees the club as a place for them, where they can bring their authentic self, and that there will a welcome and sense of belonging for them.”