A/HRC/62/55 “Englishness” were disseminated across the colonial world.28 The lasting impacts of this can be seen in the lack of adequate racial representation among those participating in the sport. For example, a 2023 report on cricket in England and Wales found that Asian British and Black British players together constituted only 8.1 per cent of male professional cricketers in 2021, while 30 to 35 per cent of the game’s adult recreational population were from ethnically diverse backgrounds; furthermore, the number of Black British male professional players has reportedly declined by approximately 75 per cent over recent decades. 29 Survey data collected by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket further revealed that 50 per cent of all respondents had experienced discrimination within the previous five years. The percentages of respondents reporting such discrimination were significantly higher among racialized minorities: 87 per cent of respondents of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage; 82 per cent of respondents of Indian heritage; and 75 per cent of Black respondents. 30 In South Africa, the Social Justice and Nation-Building process documented extensive evidence that Black players were routinely denied meaningful opportunities despite formal inclusion within squads. Several former players testified that they were repeatedly selected as reserve players or made to carry beverages while white teammates were afforded playing opportunities regardless of comparative form or performance. 31 Similarly, in India, Dalits constitute roughly 17 per cent of the national population but remain almost entirely absent from elite cricket structures. The absence of publicly available caste-disaggregated data within domestic cricket further obscures the scale of exclusion and hinders accountability.32 23. Another example of discrimination in participation in sport can be seen in the career of Faisal bin Mubashir, an Ahmadi cricketer from Pakistan. Mr. Bin Mubashir played extensively in the domestic cricket structure in Pakistan between 2011 and 2017 and was regarded as one of the best-known Ahmadi cricketers in recent years.33 Despite this, he never represented Pakistan internationally and eventually moved to Germany, making his international debut for Germany in 2021. Mr. Bin Mubashir has shared his experience of the everyday forms of discrimination he faced within cricketing environments, explaining that he often modified his own behaviour in order to avoid discomfort or exclusion among teammates.34 The structural discrimination faced by the Ahmadiyyah community is deeply embedded within the State and legal framework of Pakistan. Government policies and constitutional provisions have institutionalized exclusion, thereby legitimizing social and religious marginalization of the Ahmadiyyah community.35 24. Barriers to adequate representation are not confined to determining who can and cannot participate in sport. Racial discrimination and stereotyping can also impact the roles that are assigned to athletes within team sports. The Special Rapporteur received information from stakeholders about the practice of “racial stacking”, particularly among Africans and people of African descent. Racial stacking refers to the systematic channelling of racialized athletes into specific playing positions characterized by physical, peripheral or reactive roles, as opposed to more cognitive and leadership-oriented sporting roles; for example, people of African descent being disproportionately assigned to positions such as running back, wide receiver and defensive back in American football, or winger and striker in football (soccer). Racial stacking reportedly starts at the earliest stages of athletic participation, perpetuating 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 8 See Dominic Malcolm, Globalizing Cricket: Englishness, Empire and Identity (Bloomsbury, 2013). Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, Holding Up a Mirror to Cricket (2023), p. 11. Ibid., p. 12. Cricket South Africa, Social Justice and Nation-Building Project Interim Report (10 December 2021), paras. 414–428. Gaurav Bhawnani and Shubham Jain, “Does India need a caste-based quota in cricket? Drawing parallels from South Africa”, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 53, No. 21 (May 2018). Faisal Mubashir, player profile, available at https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/faisal-mubashir537048; and Saba Imtiaz, “Rabwah dreams of the green cap”, The Cricket Monthly, May 2016, available at https://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/1002085. Imtiaz, “Rabwah dreams of the green cap”. Adopted in 1974, the Second Amendment to the Constitution declares Ahmadis to be non-Muslim; Ordinance XX of 1984 further enforces that distinction. See also Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “Pakistan’s Ahmadis face rising persecution, violence”, 21 May 2013; and Human Rights Watch, “Pakistan: Ahmadis kept off minorities commission”, 8 May 2020. GE.26-07112