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Your Team
Joel Mannix- Chairman
Darren Lewis - Vice Chairman
Joel Mannix- Chairman
Joel Mannix is the Chairman and a founding member of BAMREF. Being Level 2B referee, Joel brings a wealth of experience and industry insight to his role from on and off the field.
'When I'm not on the green stuff I run my own security company, looking after celebrities and VIPs and also work as a Paramedic always looking to help.'
Aji Ajibola- CEO
Darren Lewis - Vice Chairman
Joel Mannix- Chairman
Aji Ajibola is Co-Founder and current CEO of BAMREF, responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation. Aji has been at the forefront of championing diversity and inclusion initiatives since BAMREF was formed in 2019. He has led several working DEI initiatives across industries over the last 10years whilst developing commercial relationships to support the organisational visions. Aji is also a member of the FA Council as a National Game Community Representative and a an active Referee on the Football National list
Darren Lewis - Vice Chairman
Darren Lewis - Vice Chairman
Darren Lewis - Vice Chairman
Darren Lewis is the Assistant Editor, Columnist and Football Writer at the Daily Mirror. He has been with the publication for 23 years. He is now a co-presenter on Sky Sports News and Talksport and a Senior Sports Analyst on CNN. Darren is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in sports and supports the BAMREF team with their above the line communication strategy.
Shelley Alexander- Secretary
Leah Godfrey - Campaign & events Lead
Darren Lewis - Vice Chairman
Shelley Alexander is the Secretary of the BAMREF. Shelley helped start the group as part of her outreach partnership work when she worked for BBC Sport. Shelley is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion freelance consultant and also chairs the FA’s Referee for all Group.
Dan Forbes - Design & Media Lead
Leah Godfrey - Campaign & events Lead
Leah Godfrey - Campaign & events Lead
Dan is a secondary school teacher and level 4 referee. Dan played semi professional football for 8 years in Scotland, for Livingston United. Having suffered a serious leg break in 2017, he played for a further two seasons before deciding to ‘hang up the boots’.
Dan passed the FA Referee course and has represented the Cumberland FA since 2020. Consecutive promotions have seen him reach level four for season 24/25 and will officiate in the northern counties.
Dan is the BAMREF design & media strategies lead.
Leah Godfrey - Campaign & events Lead
Leah Godfrey - Campaign & events Lead
Leah Godfrey - Campaign & events Lead
Leah Godfrey is an award-winning sports professional who focuses on merging conscious commercialisation with community outcomes to nurture the sociocultural revolution within the rise of women's sports. Founder & CEO of Pink
Door Creative, her consultancy modernises women's sports brands, clubs, athletes, and founders through operational refinement, conscious commercialisation, authentic community building, events, and marketing. She is
also the Co-Founder of Racing Vesta, a creative and social change brand redefining the women's sports narrative.
Vinny Wagjiani - Strategic Programmes Lead
Rashpal Shergill - Community Engagement Lead
Vinny Wagjiani - Strategic Programmes Lead
Detective Inspector Vinny Wagjiani is a seasoned police professional with overn22 years of dedicated service across various police forces, including the
Metropolitan Police, Surrey Police, and currently serving in Kent Police. Throughout his career, he has been a staunch advocate for inclusivity and
diversity in policing. In all three forces, DI Wagjiani has played a pivotal role in supporting the Police
Action Teams to foster an inclusive environment for all community members. At Kent, he assumed leadership roles as the Vice Chair of the Race Equality Network, the Chair of the Independent Advisory Group for Kent FA, championing
accessibility in football and sits as a community member for the Diversity - Equity- Inclusion committee for Canterbury Christ Church University.
Val Anekwe- Safeguarding Officer
Rashpal Shergill - Community Engagement Lead
Vinny Wagjiani - Strategic Programmes Lead
Hi, I am Val Anekwe. Level 3 Ref. I came into refereeing just over 12 years ago through running the line for my now oldest son. Once I took up the whistle, it became addictive and thoroughly enjoyable. It is something I would encourage anyone to do and am now involved in observing, mentoring coaching. Outside of refereeing, I am head of behaviour at a secondary school and a teacher of science.
To relax, I enjoy taking part in quiz completions, travelling (one unfulfilled ambition, is to visit every African country) and I am an avid record collector. The collection ranges from rock, pop, classical to reggae. I have been known to go to different parts of the country buying collections that are unwanted.
Rashpal Shergill - Community Engagement Lead
Rashpal Shergill - Community Engagement Lead
Jawahir J Roble MBE- Social Media & Content Creator
Rashpal has worked in primary and secondary education for over 20 years and is currently a primary school teacher in Kent. She started an unexpected journey into refereeing through volunteering at her children’s football games. She decided to officially take the Referee’s course to get qualified and inspire females and BAMH communities as there was very little representation in refereeing. As a Sikh and a female BAMREF, Rashpal celebrates her achievements with all communities. She made history in 2023 by becoming the first South Asian Female to referee at a Kent County Cup Final and was awarded an FA National Referee Recognition award in 2023 in the Refereeing in the Community category.
Jawahir J Roble MBE- Social Media & Content Creator
Jawahir J Roble MBE- Social Media & Content Creator
Jawahir J Roble MBE- Social Media & Content Creator
JJ received an MBE for her services and contributions to women's football. Recently JJ has took on a new role within the BAMREF organisation, which sees JJ create and update social content across our media platforms.
JJ is also a 3W Referee as well as a coach .
JJ says: 'I adore football, and I hope that one day it will be available to everyone.
I hold a bachelor's degree in football coaching and management'.
Testimonials
Joel Mannix- Chairman
FA Referee Level 2b
Starting my referee journey in 2009 after Uriah Rennie hung up his whistle I decided that I could follow in his footsteps and become the next best thing, on my journey I found that there were many obstacles that came way but being the individual I am I decided to proceed having been told that level 4 was my highest ceiling I wondered which other BAMH refs were having been told the same thing,
Having achieved my level 2b status I wondered how many other refs were finding this journey difficult because of the colour of the skin hence I sat down with some past and present BAME refs shared our stories and hence BAME REF SUPPORT.
When I'm not on the green stuff I run my own security company look after celebrities and VIPs and also work as a Paramedic always looking to help.
BAMREF, within the last 3 years has moved on leaps and bounds with the 3 main Rs
Representation, Recruitment and Retention, I’ve always said I wont referee in the promised land ( premiership) but if we can knock at the doors, break barriers then one day our representation would have paid off.
Aji Ajibola- Vice Chairman
Aji Ajibola is Vice Chairman of the BAME Referee Support Group and a serving member of the Football Association in a voluntary role on the FA Council as a National Game Football Communities Representative. He is an accomplished, highly organized, and strategic problem solver with a history of profound success within commercial and enterprise business environment.
A 20 years serving active referee currently at level 2A, Aji has been involved in spearheading several inclusion and diversity initiatives on multiple platforms to increase awareness and help organizations widen their access to talent pools from BAMH backgrounds that will help drive improved culture, productivity, and performance.
He is a passionate leader who creates successful teams and a winning culture through leading by example and through experience.
Leah Godfrey - Campaign & events Lead
Leah has held pivotal roles in league and club leadership and possesses deep expertise in club and athlete management, alongside crisis management. As an award-winning event director, she has hosted London's largest girls' tournaments,
Black to the Future, pivotal conferences, charity galas, auctions, and other community-championing events. Her work embodies a commitment to advocating for gender and racial equality and modernising the sports landscape with integrity and innovation.
Vinny Wagjiani - Strategic Programmes Lead
Beyond policing, Vinny serves as the Chair of Governors for a primary school, promoting equity in education. He is actively involved in supporting BAMREF's strategic initiatives and chairs the planning committee for this years annual conference. Vinny's unwavering passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion drives his efforts to create a sense of belonging and significance for underrepresented groups, focusing on recruitment, retention, and progression in all spheres.