KALJIT ATWAL ON FOOTBALL FREESTYLING, THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND RISING ABOVE SEXISM

“I think it was destined to be my journey.”

Freestyle footballer Kaljit Atwal has spoken to Her Game Too about mastering the game, on and off the pitch, as part of the launch of an inclusive clothing and merchandise collection by Irish whiskey brand Jameson and sports brand PUMA.

Hailing from Birmingham, Kaljit has turned her footballing flair and infectious personality into a full-time career, creating fun football-related content on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

She’s already built a following of over 200,000 and amassed more than 1.4 million likes on TikTok alone.

Kaljit says her love for the game started at an early age and only grew as she got older.

“My dad always had football on the TV and I used to play it in the park with my brothers and the boys my age, so I guess I just copied them,” she said.

“I ended up leaving 11-a-side football and moved into freestyling just before lockdown, after I met a freestyler called Rebaz Mohammed at a local gym.

“I found freestyling really intriguing; you’re playing music, being creative, and you get to do what you want.

“After that it just spiralled, I became obsessed with it, wanting to learn new skills, uploading videos, and it somehow turned into a full-time career.

“I think it was destined to be my journey.”

Across social media, you can find a wide range of Kaljit’s content, from teaching professional players new tricks to humiliating individuals in a game of street panna.

Kaljit claims her ability to step out of her comfort zone and build confidence in front of the camera has been the key to her content taking off.

Throughout her journey, Kaljit has inspired many women who may have felt uncomfortable or excluded from sport to get involved, and she feels this is the best part of being a content creator.

“The best part is receiving nice messages from people who say they’ve been inspired to pick up a football, or go to the gym, or they’ve been inspired to do something creative that they love.

“When you get messages like that, it makes you realise how crazy social platforms are at influencing others.

“And if I’m motivating or inspiring someone else, I just feel really grateful.

“I have a great community that always supports me, and it’s something I do not undervalue - it pushes me to become better.

“So, when I get to experience amazing opportunities, I like to take them with me.”

Through Kaljit’s collaboration with Jameson and PUMA, she joined football stars including former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given and Wycombe Wanderers Women player Jess Watkins, to front the release of a set of limited edition items – including balls, jerseys, boots and bottles - which pay homage to football fans, and how the game is for everyone, regardless of gender of gender, background or age. 

Her Game Too champions the work Kaljit has done within her community and strives to replicate this for women watching and playing sports.

But it hasn’t been an easy ride for Kaljit to achieve what she has.

“I think sexism definitely exists - for me, it’s something I’ll never give my energy to.

“Whether it’s sexism, racism, or whatever, I try not to let it affect me.

“I have a great community and people supporting me and that’s what I want to focus on.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable.

“My way of dealing with it is focusing on the positives, and that’s what’s worked for me.

“There's too much good to focus on the negatives.”

Kaljit is a massive inspiration to anyone associated with the game, and she shared a few words of encouragement for young girls who dream of being a footballer or content creator: “My message to young girls is always to be authentic, because when you are, great things happen.

“Always be true to who you are.”

You can follow Kaljit on Instagram here and on TikTok here.