Former Arsenal trainee Tafazzul 'Taff' Islam is now making an impact as a coach and founding member of the Pro Touch Soccer Academy.
As an Arsenal fan, it was always Taff’s dream to make a career for himself at the Club he loves. He was a promising schoolboy and was awarded a scholarship with the Gunners in 2000, but an incessant series of injuries contributed to him being released by the Gunners at the end of the 2002/2003 season.
Now, at the age of 25, he is looking to make a comeback and the Gunners are welcoming him with open arms.
“I would love to one day become a coach for the club and I have found Liam Brady and David Court as supportive now as they were when I was an Academy player,” says Taff.
“I am following a PFA coaching degree and I support the coaches at the club's Hale End Training centre and help with the younger players as often as I am able, and I am learning a lot. Everyone there has been so supportive.”
Youth tournament
Last summer Taff entered a team from Pro Touch Soccer Academy, where he is Head of Coaching, into the Dana Cup, Europe’s biggest youth tournament that featured in excess of 900 teams from all around the world.
“We entered one team in the Under-14s category, but we had quite a few Under-12s and Under-13s too. There were 127 teams in that age group and we got all the way to the semi-finals where we were eventually beaten by a professional team from Mexico.
“Considering it was our first time in the tournament and the lads had not been together that long, it was a fantastic achievement. With developing young players it’s not always about the results, but our success was a big confidence booster for the players.
"The experience was great for them and we will be sending two teams out to Denmark this summer,” he reports.
The Pro Touch Soccer Academy was set up to help talented young players achieve their dream of playing professional football. Success in that aim followed quickly after the Dana Cup.
Pro club trials
“Since coming back from Denmark we have managed to get four players signed to professional clubs; two at Reading, one at Watford and one at QPR.
"We currently have five players out on trial and are very hopeful that another two or three of them will be taken on. We hope to keep progressing.”
Taff was recently nominated for the accolade for the coaching category in the British Asian Sports Awards and feels that young sports people from Asian communities will begin to come through.
“I think that there has been a shift in recent years. Young Asians can play football and will start showing themselves, as parents are beginning to encourage young talent to follow their dreams.
"In the past it was not considered to lead to a stable future. It was not seen as a suitable path because pursuing an education was paramount. That of course is still important, but there is more of an open attitude now and I am sure that more and more young talented Asian footballers will come to the fore.”
For more information on the Pro Touch Soccer Academy, please visit protouchsocceracademy.com
To read this interview in full, please click here.
