Spurs’ Powell backs south Asian talent

COACH SAYS TIME TO SHED STEREOTYPES ABOUT PLAYERS AND FOCUS ON STRENGTHS

THERE is plenty of footballing talent in Britain’s south Asian community, Tottenham head of academy coaching Chris Powell has said.

Players from the community can break through and become part of the ‘fabric’ of English football, Powell told Sky Sports.

His first taste of coaching came under former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson at Leicester, a city where almost two-fifths of the population is Asian or British Asian. Powell said: “There’s some talent out there, you see the young boy at Bournemouth (Dinesh Gillela).

“There’s a young player at Spurs as well, who is very talented and understands what the game’s about. The parents have (also) bought into it, and the club have been very welcoming in making sure that there’s an understanding because (south) Asian players are talented.

According to Powell, people need to look across all four divisions and get players in at all levels.

South Asian footballers must be given opportunities to develop and showcase their talent in the game, he added.

“The stereotypes [that have plagued aspiring British south Asian footballers], we have to come away from that now. We have to look at the positives and look at people like Danny Batth, Neil Taylor and Hamza Choudhury,” Powell told Sky Sports.

Powell is best known as a left-back at Charlton where he amassed over 250 appearances before returning to The Valley as manager, guiding the club to the League One title in the 2011-12 season.

The club’s women’s side are coached by former Nottingham Forest academy player Riteesh Mishra, who is the only British south Asian manager across the leagues in men’s and women’s football.

Recently, Mishra has been recognised by the League Managers’ Association with the FA Women’s Championship Manager of the Month award for February.