AMIR KHAN SUPPORTS SEMSA
(10 June 2005)

Boxer, Amir Khan is now taking this love for sports to the next level. He has pledged his full support to SEMSA - the Scottish Ethnic Minority Sports Association. SEMSA is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers from the Black Minority Ethnic Communities living in Scotland. In recent years, a career or even an interest in sport has become increasingly popular especially for individuals from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds. This has been fuelled by the success of sports people such as Dame Kelly Holmes and Amir Khan who have proved to be excellent role models in displaying ambition, enthusiasm and love for their chosen sport.

SEMSA, previously known as SASA (Scottish Asian Sports Association) was officially launched on Friday June 10th 2005 at Celtic Park. The launch was attended by a number of community leaders and organisations from across the UK, including. Glasgow City Council, the Commission for Racial Equality, Sporting Equals, Kick It Out and Strathclyde Police.

The official launch of SEMSA coincided with a Declaration of Action, in the form of a Racial Equality Charter for Sport. The charter is a public pledge, signed by the leaders of sport, community and statutory agencies, committing them to use their influence to create an environment for sport to flourish in Glasgow, in which all people can take part without facing racial discrimination of any kind. At the launch, boxing sensation Amir Khan pledged his full support to SEMSA via a video presentation. He said "This event represents a huge step forward for Black Minority Ethnic Communities in gaining access and representation in the sporting world. "