Wolverhampton Wanderers under-18 defender Kamran Kandola has just been rewarded for his development, commitment and work ethic having progressed through his hometown club’s Academy by signing his first professional contract. The Wolverhampton-born centre-back has spent the last decade at the Academy where he has progressed throughout the age groups to become a regular at under-18 level.
A talented local prospect, Kandola, who is part of the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Asian Inclusion Mentoring Scheme, which supports and inspires young British Asian’s making a name for themselves in the game, has been one of the key members of the under-18s during the last few years, having first played for the side as a schoolboy in the 2019/20 campaign. He has also stepped up to the under-23s in the early months of this season, making his debut for the development squad in their Papa John’s Trophy clash with League One highfliers Wigan Athletic, in which he helped his side to a clean sheet before scoring the winning penalty in the bonus point shootout.
With Kandola, 17, now being the only professional footballer at Wolves from a south Asian background having signed his first pro deal, Wolves Academy’s Head of Player Development, Scott Sellars, is hoping the defender can be an inspiration to other young players from the city who have experienced a similar upbringing.
“Kam is a great representative of the south Asian community in Wolverhampton,” Sellars added.
“There is a real shortage of players from that background in football in general, but we want our club to reflect our local community. I’d love to think that south Asian kids growing up in Wolverhampton will see Kam as a great role model because he’s done a lot of work in telling his story and how it has been for him to get to where he’s at.
“Hopefully he’ll inspire more local boys, not only those who share his background, to believe that they can do it because they’ve seen Kam do it.”
