Sanjay Bhandari to Step Down as Kick It Out Chair
Sanjay Bhandari will bring his tenure as Kick It Out chair to a close at the end of the 2026-27 season, drawing a line under more than seven years at the helm of English football’s leading anti-discrimination charity.
Appointed in 2019, Bhandari has presided over a period of significant change and modernisation for the organisation, which was founded in 1993 and has long stood at the forefront of the fight against racism and inequality in the game.
In 2024, he received an MBE for services to football during his time with the charity, underlining how central his work has been to the sport’s wider push for inclusion.
Reflecting on his time in charge, Bhandari described it as a “tremendous honour” to chair Kick It Out and pointed to the charity’s long-term vision as the driving force behind its work.
He highlighted the organisation’s “Football United” strategy, built around the idea of bringing together governing bodies, clubs, players, supporters, communities and partners to deliver lasting change. In a climate he described as “increasingly negative and divided”, Bhandari stressed that Kick It Out is “consciously seeking to strike a different tone”.
The next chair, he said, will be central to that mission, leading an experienced and committed board and working closely with the chief executive to represent what he called one of the most respected voices for equality and inclusion in sport.
His spell in charge has coincided with a transformation of the charity’s internal structure and strength. During his tenure, Kick It Out has improved its financial independence and governance, installed an entirely new board and leadership team, and reshaped its staffing structure to match its growing role in the game.
The search for his successor starts now. Kick It Out will begin a formal recruitment process with the aim of identifying a preferred candidate by the end of December.
The transition will be gradual rather than abrupt. The incoming chair is expected to work alongside Bhandari through to the end of the 2026-27 campaign, before formally taking over on 1 July 2027 — a handover that will shape how football’s equality fight is led into the next decade.
