My Story: Hartlepool United chairman Raj Singh on his journey in the game and his hopes for the future
Hartlepool United chairman Raj Singh opens up to Sky Sports News as part our My Story series; Singh talks about his love for football, his journey in the game and his aspirations for League Two Hartlepool United.
Friday 9 September 2022 14:51, UK
Raj Singh has seen his fair share of highs and lows in his time as chairman of Hartlepool United.
Singh hails from Middlesbrough, and followed the Teessiders in his youth before forging his career as a successful businessman in the North East.
The Hartlepool United chairman kicks off our My Story series discussing his love for football and his journey in the game, the League Two club's prospects, and British South Asian representation in football.
From local boy to club owner
Singh completed a last-gasp takeover of Hartlepool United from Sage Investment in 2018, with the then-National League club under a transfer embargo and days away from going into liquidation. With steadily improving league positions under his stewardship, Hartlepool managed to earn promotion back to the Football League - after a four-year absence - with victory against Torquay United in the 2020/21 National League play-off final at Bristol City's Ashton Gate stadium.
"I've always been a massive football fan, growing up in Middlesbrough," Singh tells Sky Sports News reporter Keith Downie.
"I was playing football at the weekends, although unfortunately never good enough to get to the highest level. I've done reasonably well in business locally and football was always something that I wanted to get involved with, and when the opportunity came along at Hartlepool, I went along and took the chance.
"We've come a long way since I've been involved in the club, which is coming up to five years now and Hartlepool United is now a stable and sustainable club. We have enjoyed a reasonable amount of success since we have been back in the league, and of course, we are hoping for some more.
"The biggest achievement so far was getting out of the National League and going back up at the end of the 2021 season. Some clubs have been in the National League for eight, nine or 10 years once they've gone out of the league, and some have never returned. So, to come back into the league after four years away was a massive achievement for us. We've managed to do that and hopefully we can achieve more success going forward.
"Overall, it's been successful, I think everybody has enjoyed the journey and we've put the club back on an even keel.
"The stress levels are better some weeks than they are on others, but when you get a day like we did down [at Ashton Gate] in Bristol when you get back into the league, it makes it all worthwhile. And the cup runs that we had last year - those are the highs."
The Million-Dollar Question
Professional Footballers' Association data released earlier this year revealed there are just 115 players from British South Asian backgrounds out of almost 15,000 players across academy and professional football. British South Asians are the largest single ethnic minority group in the country, but representation at the elite level of the game remains a pressing issue, with PFA figures indicating a mere 0.45 per cent of the total pool of professional footballers hail from the community.
"Why haven't there been more South Asians making it in the Premier League or even the Championship? It's the million-dollar question, and nobody can really answer it because South Asians have done okay in boxing and cricket, playing for England.
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"It's always a difficult question and nobody can ever answer why a South Asian has never got right to the top because if you look across the board, business-wise, politics, South Asians have done okay, why is it just football?
"There is a massive following among South Asians. We've all tried to get the game initially while growing up, and if it's not playing, you try and get involved in some way, like Sunny Singh Gill [who refereed Hartlepool's recent game at Northampton Town].
"Others going into coaching, and people like myself from business trying to get involved at a high level, so the passion is there but it's difficult to explain why there isn't someone who has made it and gone all the way.
How society is changing
"As has been very well documented, football had its own problems back in the 70s and 80s with football hooliganism and it made it 10 times worse as a South Asian trying to follow football.
"I've followed Middlesbrough since 1978. It was really, really tough and you had to be careful, especially when you were at away matches and making sure you weren't by yourself or isolated because you didn't know when trouble was going to kick off, and fans were going to start fighting. And being a South Asian, you were open even more to abuse.
"You had to be really careful. But it makes you a stronger character, of course it was not okay, but back in those days - that's just how it was. It was a case of finding a way to deal with it and try and come out of it the best you can and as a better person and I think a lot of people my age have done that.
"But there have been massive leaps forward in all walks of life. The UK has come a long way in the last 25 years and everybody, including Sky Sports, is making a big push to eradicate things like that in sport, and life in general.
"We are now the fourth generation of South Asians in this country. When our forefathers came here it was tough going after World War II, no question about it. But we're very much part of the country now, our kids, this is their country, and rightly so because they are all born here. There is still work to be done, but we are on the right track and overall I think there have been big steps in the right direction."
Hartlepool's ambition this season
Hartlepool retained their League Two status by finishing 17th last season, but are currently one spot off the bottom, awaiting their first league victory of this campaign. Ex-Dundee manager Paul Hartley - who was appointed over the summer after guiding Cove Rangers to the Scottish Championship following two promotions in three seasons - picked up his first win this term with last week's 2-0 Papa Johns Trophy victory against Harrogate Town. That was followed by a draw away at Colchester in the league, leaving Hartlepool 11 points off the play-off positions.
"The ambition has always been that if the new players gel in, we should be there or thereabouts with the play-offs. It hasn't been the best of starts, but I think if we can put some results together there is no reason why we can't be up there.
"It seems like a big ask at the moment, but I am confident we are going to start putting some points on the board. Putting a couple of wins together changes the table. It's still early days, and there are also a lot of so-called bigger clubs than us that haven't made the best of starts. We're not panicking just yet."
British South Asians in Football
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