By Asia Samachar | New Zealand |
When Sarpreet Singh takes the field for the New Zealand national football team at the FIFA World Cup 2026, the name “Singh” emblazoned across the back of his jersey will resonate far beyond football.
It will mark a historic milestone for the global Sikh and Panjabi diaspora, with the Auckland-born midfielder poised to become the first player of Panjabi-Sikh origin to feature at football’s biggest tournament.
The 27-year-old played a pivotal role in helping New Zealand qualify for football’s biggest stage for the first time since 2010. The All Whites’ qualification marks only the nation’s third appearance at the FIFA World Cup.
Sarpreet’s likely World Cup debut carries significance far beyond New Zealand football, particularly for the Sikh and wider Panjabi diaspora, who have rarely seen themselves represented at the elite level of global football.
While players of Indian ancestry have appeared at the World Cup before, including former France midfielder Vikash Dhorasoo in 2006, Sarpreet is set to become the first player with explicit Panjabi-Sikh heritage to play at the tournament.
Born in Auckland to Panjabi parents who ran a grocery, Sarpreet grew up in a close-knit Sikh household where sport was central to family life.
“I’m from a very typical Punjabi family with a lot of uncles and aunties and cousins. We always used to play backyard cricket, a bit of basketball,” Sarpreet told Sportstar after New Zealand qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 last year.
Sarpreet, 27, developed through local clubs Papatoetoe and Onehunga Sports before joining the Wellington Phoenix FC academy in 2015.
His rise was rapid. Sarpreet made his senior debut for Wellington Phoenix as a teenager and soon established himself as one of the A-League’s brightest young talents. His standout performances during the 2018-19 season earned him a move to German giants FC Bayern Munich in 2019.
The transfer made him the first player of Indian descent to sign for Bayern Munich and the first New Zealander to play in the Bundesliga since Wynton Rufer.
Sarpreet has since featured across Europe and represented New Zealand at youth and senior level, including the FIFA U-20 World Cups and the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Now back with Wellington Phoenix on loan ahead of the World Cup, Sarpreet stands on the verge of a landmark moment for both New Zealand football and the global Sikh community.
Join the conversation on this story on Asia Samachar’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
RELATED STORY:
Bayern Munich eye signing NZ youngster Sarpreet Singh (Asia Samachar, 25 June 2019)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
