Vimal Yoganathan is a professional footballer who currently plays for Barnsley. The 20-year-old is a midfielder who made history when he made his debut for the club. 

He plays for Wales at international level, and he is of Sri Lankan heritage. He is one of only a few British South Asian footballers to be playing in the English Football League.

In 2023, a figure showed that there are 5,000 professional footballers in England, but only 22 of those players are of South Asian heritage.

Yoganathan became the first Tamil footballer to sign a professional contract in England, and he featured for the side for the first time in 2023, against Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Cup. Since that moment, he has made 40 appearances for the Yorkshire outfit and featured in their recent FA Cup game away vs. Liverpool.

Barnsley travelled to Liverpool in the third round of the FA Cup, with Yoganathan set to feature against his former club. He was a part of the Merseyside club’s youth academy up until 2022, before he made the switch to his current club. 

He played 88 minutes of the game, as his side lost 4-1. Despite the result, it was an impressive performance from Barnsley, who made their fans proud with their display on the pitch.

Last season, the 20-year-old was on loan at Oldham Athletic and helped the Latics gain promotion back to the EFL. They won the play-off final 3-2 at Wembley Stadium against Southend United, and Yoganathan featured for 84 minutes in the game. Last campaign, he made 17 appearances for the Greater Manchester side, scoring twice and providing three assists.

An impressive 2024/25 season saw Yoganathan secure a spot in Barnsley’s League One team for this campaign, and he has netted two league goals to date. With 25 appearances across all competitions, the Welshman has featured regularly and has played in all of Barnsley’s last seven matches.

Yoganathan is a huge inspiration for the British South Asian community, who are looking to become professional footballers. He grew up in north Wales, in a town called Trelawnyd, and his family come from Sri Lanka.

To the BBC, he said, “Being a role model will be a part of being a footballer. Hopefully I can do that and inspire younger players coming through – especially Tamil people.”

At such a young age, Vimal has already played at three iconic stadiums in England which are: Wembley Stadium, Old Trafford and Anfield. He played against Manchester United last season in the EFL Cup before completing a loan move to Oldham, and he played 45 minutes during the cup clash at Old Trafford. 

Manchester United were 7-0 winners, but the experience of playing in front of 75,000 people will be something Vimal will never forget.