Factory feud fuelled Punjab United success story
What began as an argument in a Wolverhampton motorcycle factory has, more than half a century later, grown into one of amateur football’s great success stories.
Punjab United Sports FC will tomorrow night mark their 50th anniversary with a special gala dinner at The Venue in Dudley.
Several hundred players, both past and present, are expected to celebrate the achievements of a club who, it is believed, are the longest-running Asian football club in Europe.
Sports have long been an established name in the Wolverhampton and District Sunday League and also field several youth teams.
But to trace their origin, you have to go back to 1966 and a conversation which took place one lunchtime at the Norton Villiers motorcycle factory between club founder Tarsem Kandola and a work colleague.
“There was a conversation about football and one of the men, who I knew used to play at weekends in the Amateur League, turned round to me and said ‘You Indians are no good at football’,” explained Tarsem, who is known at the club as Terry and moved to Wolverhampton in 1960 from the Punjab.
“As you can imagine, that started an argument which ended with me telling him I was going to form a team, get it into the league and beat his team.
“So that’s exactly what I did.”
The team at first consisted of Terry and a handful of his workmates but quickly grew in number as word began to spread. After meeting with officials, they were permitted entry into Division Eight of the Wolverhampton Amateur League.
“It started with about seven of us and gradually more started to join,” continued Terry. “We put up notices at social clubs and the local cinema and after a while had more than 20 players and the makings of a pretty decent side.
“We were a team with an Asian base but we’ve always made sure we are inclusive.”
An indication of that inclusiveness came in 1978, when the club made national headlines by gracing Molineux after reaching the final of the league’s cup competition. Ten of their starting XI had the surname Singh, the exception being Geoff Edwards.
Increasing numbers saw two additional Sunday league teams formed during the mid-70s, Bilston College FC and Hatherton Arms, with both later merging to become Punjab United Sports.
The club’s first youth team was born in 2003 and several sides now operate in the Bilston Youth Partnership League and the Walsall League from under-11 to under-17.
In 2013, the senior team won the Birmingham FA Sunday Vase and the Asian UK Community Cup. Their base, at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara on Upper Villiers Street, contains a sizeable trophy cabinet.
But success on the pitch, while the source of much pride, has always been secondary to off-field achievements.
“The aim when we first started was to keep lads off the street and give them the chance to play the sport,” explained Terry. “That has never changed. Over the years we’ve had some fantastic teams but the community element has always been the most important.”
The club has forged strong links with national organisations including the Asians in Football Forum (AFF) and Kick It Out. The sense of community spirit is best epitomised by the manner in which involvement with the club has now become a right of passage in many families.
“My father played for the senior team and was club secretary and myself and my brothers played for the youth teams,” explained committee member Gulraj Kular. “The club is almost part of the family and you are encouraged to get involved in the club in some shape of form. There is a real determination among so many people to keep things going.”
For Terry, meanwhile, tomorrow evening promises to be a memorable and emotional occasion. A chance to reflect on a success born out of his desire to prove others wrong.
“Could I have imagined how things would turn out? Not in the slightest,” he admits.
As for his old work colleague?
“We did play his team and beat them 3-1,” he recalls. “You should have seen his face!”
