Zesh Rehman lines up for international duty with Pakistan
The next meeting of the National Asians in Football Forum will take place in Manchester on Monday 11th May. This article addresses some of the issues currently facing the forum.
From clubwebsite.co.uk
Every weekend, parks and playing fields across the UK play host to a mass celebration of our national sport.
Like no other social vehicle, football at grassroots level football brings together people from all walks of life, cultures, races and backgrounds. It is only as you move up the football ladder that things start to change, particularly if you are a member of the Asian community.
At the time of the 2001 census there were over 2.3 million Asian or British Asian people living in the UK, some 4% of the total population.
Hundreds of thousands of Asian footballers turn out to play and watch football across the country every week, yet only seven British Asian players earn their living in the professional game today.
This statistic speaks for itself, as do the results of a survey conducted by the Commission for Racial Equality in 2004, which identified just 10 Asian players at Premier League academies - just 0.8 per cent of the total figure.
Under-representation
In the five years that have elapsed since, this figure is not believed to have changed greatly.
So what are the main reasons behind this massive under-representation of British Asians in the professional game?
Kick It Out’s director, Piara Powar explains: “The reasons are quite complicated but, at the same time, there are some very simple issues at the core of that reasoning.
"Unfortunately it is about stereotyping. We are all stereotyped. We are all perceived in a certain way.”
Popular myths concerning Asian footballers include a belief that they like cricket more than football and that they are not strong enough to compete in the professional game.
Zesh Rehman, one of the seven current British Asian professionals, had to deal with these sterotypes when he was growing up. “I faced a lot of them,” he said.
'Another hurdle'
“Things such as [Asian kids] being scared of the weather or having the wrong diet. I don’t know where they come from but the more people hear them, they just jump on the bandwagon and assume they are right. It’s creating another hurdle that just shouldn’t be there."
Organisations such as Kick It Out and the Asian Football Network, amongst others, have been working hard to eradicate such attitudes but, as with all stereotypes, these are often entrenched and, by definition, paint a whole group of people in a particular light.
“One of the problems in football is that the Asian community is seen as one that doesn’t play football and doesn’t play football at the highest level," says Powar.
“What's more, the key people who are responsible for identifying talent that feed into professional clubs I think hold those views.
"Ultimately I think there is a sense [from the clubs] that getting an Asian player on board might be new - it would be untried, untested, so it may bring problems that the club or academy can’t deal with.
Such factors could well hold the key to whether or not a player is selected by a professional club, particularly when making the marginal calls that regularly make or break opportunities.
Excerpt from article on clubwebsite.co.uk
The next meeting of the National Asians In Football Forum will take place on Monday 11th May at Manchester City FC from 6pm-8pm. For more information or to attend the event, please email zakir@kickitout.org
