29th April 2021
| Mark Frost
Cricket Wales is delighted to announce that it has appointed Mojeid Ilyas as its diverse communities cricket development officer to work in Cardiff and Newport from May onwards. The role will focus on supporting inner city clubs to flourish as well as setting up a range of informal cricket activities to capture latent interest and starts in May.
Here are some of Mojeid’s own words to describe himself:
“Sports and in particular cricket have played a major role in my life and continues to do so to this day. My first interaction with cricket took place in a local park in Grangetown when I was introduced to tape ball cricket by my brother and his friends. Since then, I have been in a craze with the sport, and I was able to start my cricketing journey at Llandaff Cricket Club formerly known as Welsh Asians Cricket Club. From there I was able to make a move to Cardiff Cricket Club and also go onto represent Cricket Wales at age group level, Glamorgan Academy, Wales Minor Counties, Cardiff MCCU, Glamorgan 2nd XI, St. Fagans Cricket Club and currently Newport Cricket Club. Throughout this journey I have also had the opportunity to coach at a variety of ability levels and age groups for the clubs I have played for as well as within my local community.
A few years ago, I was made aware of the importance of having positive role models and people that care within the community. As an aspiring young cricketer in Grangetown, many young boys and girls would come up to me for help with their cricket and since then I have made a conscious decision to be a positive influence for the young boys and girls in my local community and not to isolate myself.
As soon as I was made aware of this opportunity to make a difference for the diverse community in Cardiff and Newport as well as other areas in the country, I thought that this would be a fantastic opportunity to give something back to the community that supported me so well.
In addition to my cricketing background as a player I have also studied at Cardiff Metropolitan University doing a degree in Primary Education Studies
I have a great passion for the game of cricket and a strong commitment to help to grow the game in diverse communities, helping others to enjoy the opportunities that I have been able to experience. I have been fortunate to work with many highly regarded coaches who have used different approaches of managing groups and people. Through my own experiences and the skills learnt from other coaches it will enable me to give valuable advice and support to the children and young people who I engage with in this role.
I also believe my own experiences coming through the ‘system’ as an ethnic minority holds me in great stead to fully appreciate and understand the challenges that young BAME cricketers face through their time as cricketers when liaising with Glamorgan’s diverse communities’ mentor. Such as the different cultural, familial, or institutional factors that may affect their journey. Therefore, I hope with my experience I can take this opportunity and negate the possibility of any young cricketers facing the same barriers I came across during my development as a cricketer and as an individual. Allowing for them to enjoy the beautiful game of cricket as well as realise their true potential. “
You can contact Mojeid on [email protected]