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School of Society and Environment - Department of History
  1. School of Society and Environment - Department of History
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  4. Project: Research and Document the Heritage of British Bengali Football

Project: Social Media Strategy & Content Development

Partner: Swadhinata Trust

The Swadhinata Trust is a London based secular Bengali community group that works to promote Bengali history and heritage amongst young people. It has been active for over twenty years.

Project

Bengal United: Football and British Bangladeshi Life in Tower Hamlets. Football has been a key part of British South Asian experiences over the last fifty years, but this story has received little representation. You will help document the story of the role of football within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ British Bangladeshi community.

This project will tell the story of organised football within the British Bengali community in Tower Hamlets since the origins of large-scale Bangladeshi migration to the borough in the early 1970s.  

Despite its importance to Bengali community life over the last 50 years - and to the history of migration, anti-racist movements and cultural integration in Britain - this story has never been publicly documented. 

qHeritage  teams will work on one of two projects. The first will see them trained to research history of the British-Bangladeshi community in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with a specific focus on the role of football therein. This will be in the form of a literature and archival review using resources and archival material at the LBTH Local History Library & Archives with a view to producing a research file that provides the socio-historical context for three of the project outputs: a touring exhibition, publication and dedicated website.  

The other team will assist in the digitising of archival material for the project (photos, newspaper cuttings and other personal ephemera) that have been collected from members of the local British-Bangladeshi football community at dedicated outreach events (there may be the option to volunteer at the events) and then write a blog post either on an item from the new archive or the experience of archiving to be posted on the project’s blog. 

Application process and key dates 

Stage 1: Online application - deadline is Wednesday 30 September 2026 
Stage 2: Shortlisting and selection  
Stage 3: Application outcome notification from Monday 05 October 2026  

Programme duration: Friday 16 October 2026 to Tuesday 08 December 2026  

Eligibility

  • Current Queen Mary students 
  • Highly motivated and teamwork oriented 
  • Passionate about heritage and making a real impact in the world 
  • Willing to dedicate a total of 15 -20 hours across the project, including client meetings, teamwork, and individual work.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse learning environment. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, as we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation and success.   

Apply

Apply by 23:45pm on Wednesday 30 September 2026. 

We will contact you if you are shortlisted. 

If you have any questions, please email:  history-qHeritage@qmul.ac.uk

We look forward to receiving your application! 

Fill in our application form

Apply here
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