The British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards 2015
The first ever British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs) took place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on Saturday 20th February 2015. Find out the winners and watch the highlights of the star-studded event here.

“He’s made a wonderful positive contribution to the game but also he is a great role model.”
The inaugural British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs), in partnership with Sporting Equals, were held at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, on Saturday 20th February 2015.
The first ever BEDSAs were hosted by Eastenders star Nitin Ganatra, who was returning to the city of his birth. The 500-plus guests and nominees, including Helen Grant MP, the Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities, and former government minister Keith Vaz, were entertained by the by the melodic, enthusiastic, and infectious Patrick Alan and Music Box Live. Also in attendance were Aston Villa’s French left-back Aly Cissokho, former Premier League striker Les Ferdinand, the Premier League’s only Black manager, QPR’s Chris Ramsey, and legendary rugby league winger Martin Offiah. England cricket star Moeen Ali was awarded the Lycamobile Sportsman of the Year. He beat fellow nominees, sprinter Adam Gemili, and track cyclist Kian Emadi, both medalists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. As the 27-year-old Ali was on World Cup duty in Australia, his proud father, Munir, collected the award on his behalf. Watch the Video Highlights of the BEDSAs here:


“It is not very often that anybody who volunteers really gets any recognition. It’s usually a case of being in the background and behind the scenes. So I’m surprised to be front-of-house for once.”The Sport England Community Sports Project was awarded to the Sheffield-based boxing club One World Sports Gym. Co-founders Israr Asif and Waj Nazir began boxing classes at the local mosque for women who had previously not had the chance. Nazir said: “We first did it in the mosques. But now we’ve got our own building. We’re primarily focussing on women and trying to get them into sport, because it is a hard to reach group.” Here are the Winners of the 2015 British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs): The Youth Sport Trust’s Young Sports Person of the Year Award Tin Tin Ho The County Sports Partnership Network’s Unsung Hero Award Maryam Amatullah The FA Coach of the Year Chris Powell The ECB Behind the Scenes Award Dr Kamran Ahmed The Sport England Community Sports Project One World Sports The UK Sport Inspirational Performance of the Year Award Ali Jawad The Jaguar Lifetime Achievement Award Denise Lewis OBE The England Athletics’ Special Recognition Award Fauja Singh BEM The Sporting Equals Sportswoman of the Year Rebecca Downie The Lycamobile Sportsman of the Year Moeen Ali The British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs) have brought different communities together and given them a platform to celebrate their success and achievement in the world of sports. After a successful inaugural celebration, we hope to see the BEDSAs grow in even greater stature in the future. Congratulations to all of the Winners!