NXT Gen Speaking presents

Roopa Vyas

Inclusion that lives beyond policy.

EDI professional, football advocate and speaker working across culture, representation, women in sport and what belonging looks like in the real world.

EDI: Professional
COO: Her Game Too
Speaker: Host / trainer
Football: Advocate

Discover Roopa's story Book Roopa Follow Roopa

Who is Roopa Vyas?

She works where culture is felt, not just written down.

Roopa Vyas is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion professional at Transport for Wales, Chief Operating Officer of Her Game Too, football advocate, speaker, host, trainer and content creator.

Her work connects professional EDI practice, women in football, Welsh identity, South Asian heritage, supporter culture, media, community and representation.

EDIHer Game TooFootballWomenWalesCultureMediaCommunity

The journey behind the voice

The work makes more sense when you see the path.

Wales, family and identity

Growing up Welsh with South Asian heritage and a family story that includes migration from Uganda to Wales in 1972.

Liverpool supporter

Football becoming part of family, culture, identity and community.

EDI career

Moving into professional Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work, where values have to become behaviour.

Her Game Too

Taking operational leadership within a national campaign challenging sexism, misogyny and discrimination in football.

Supporter inclusion

Working around fan education, reporting, signposting, matchday environments and supporter engagement.

Cymru and representation

Bringing a Welsh football lens through Cymru, PAWB mentoring, women and girls in sport and community visibility.

Media, content and speaking

Developing a public voice across football, EDI, culture, representation and belonging.

Today

Speaker, host, trainer and advocate

Bringing these worlds together for organisations and audiences who want inclusion to be practical.

What she actually does

This isn't theory.

Roopa works in environments where inclusion has to function in practice: workplaces, supporter communities, football campaigns and public conversations.

Workplace culture

A policy can say everything right. People can still experience something else.

At Transport for Wales, Roopa has worked on, supported or contributed to areas including anti-racism, EDI steering and advisory work, colleague support networks, gender equality, anti-sexism, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ inclusion, race equality, organisational culture and recruitment or engagement.

On paperPolicyValuesStatementsStrategy

The gap between the two is where culture lives.

In real lifeBehaviourConfidenceBelongingRepresentationAccountability

Women in football

Making the game feel like it belongs to everyone.

As Chief Operating Officer of Her Game Too, Roopa works within a movement challenging sexism, misogyny and discrimination in football.

Fan education
Reporting and signposting
Matchday inclusion
Supporter engagement
Women and girls in football
Representation

Liverpool context

From supporter to change-maker.

Roopa's connection to Liverpool is rooted in family, supporter identity and community. Through Her Game Too partnership work, that connection has extended into practical supporter inclusion: education, reporting, signposting, fan forums, frontline staff conversations and matchday environments.

First Time Fans

What does inclusion look like?

Sometimes it looks like a woman or girl walking into a football stadium for the first time and knowing where to go, who to ask and that the space is for her too.

This is the difference between saying everyone is welcome and making someone actually feel welcome.

Football, identity and belonging

Football is culture.

Wales

Welsh identity, Cymru football, PAWB mentoring and community visibility.

South Asian identity

Heritage, family migration from Uganda to Wales in 1972 and representation without simplification.

Football

Supporter culture, belonging, women in the game and who gets to feel at home in public spaces.

Red Roots

People should not have to choose which part of themselves is allowed into the room.

Roopa's connection to South Asian Liverpool supporter community work demonstrates how identity, representation and belonging can become practical community-building rather than abstract language.

Why book Roopa?

She connects what organisations say with what people actually experience.

Practical experience

She works inside organisational EDI, not just around it.

Football culture

She works around environments where inclusion, sexism, identity and representation are highly visible.

Lived perspective

Welsh, South Asian, female, football supporter and professional.

Communication

She has experience speaking, hosting, training and creating content.

Real stories

Her talks are grounded in situations, campaigns and communities she has actually worked within.

What your organisation can learn

What can Roopa bring to your room?

Inclusion that people can feel

Real-world context: Values and policies can exist without creating confidence.

Roopa's experience: Working across EDI systems, networks and football spaces where belonging is tested publicly.

Question: Does your lived culture match your stated values?

Challenging normalised behaviour

Real-world context: Sexism, exclusion and poor behaviour can become accepted through silence.

Roopa's experience: Her Game Too work around education, reporting and practical challenge.

Question: What behaviour have you normalised?

Creating belonging

Real-world context: Being invited in is not the same as feeling safe to participate.

Roopa's experience: Women in football, supporter culture, Wales, identity and community.

Question: Who feels they have to change themselves to belong?

Representation with purpose

Real-world context: Visibility matters, but it needs voice, access and accountability.

Roopa's experience: Public work around women, South Asian identity, football and media.

Question: Who is represented before decisions are made?

Having difficult conversations

Real-world context: Inclusion work involves behaviour, discomfort, identity and power.

Roopa's experience: Speaking, hosting, content and facilitation across complex subjects.

Question: How do you make difficult conversations useful enough to matter?

What should people leave thinking about?

Does our lived culture match our stated values?
Who feels comfortable speaking up?
Who feels represented?
Who has to edit themselves to belong?
Are people invited in before decisions are made?
What does practical allyship look like?

Speaking

Bring the conversation into the room.

Roopa brings real organisational experience, football culture and lived perspective into conversations around inclusion and belonging.

Women in FootballBeyond Performative InclusionBelonging & RepresentationSexism & MisogynyRace, Culture & IdentityInclusive OrganisationsSport & Social ChangeDifficult Conversations

Available forKeynotesPanelsHostingWorkshopsEDI sessionsGuest lecturesDiscuss your event

Media and recognition

Recognised in the conversation.

alt.cardiff

Football, identity and inclusivity

alt.cardiff profiled Roopa's perspective as an Indian-Welsh female football fan.

Read article

BBC Sport

Women feeling safer at football

Prepared space for confirmed BBC Sport coverage around women, safety and football.

FAW / Cymru

Welsh football and representation

Prepared space for confirmed FAW/Cymru context around PAWB, mentoring and inclusion.

2024

Football Content Awards - Silver - EDI Individual