‘Success of Asian players will attract more talent’
HOW ROLE MODELS CAN CHANGE
MENTORING, a changing of mindset and ditching “lazy stereotypes” will ensure more English-born professional footballers of south Asian descent make it to the top of the game, Riz Rehman, the player inclusion executive for the Professional Footballers’ Association, has said.
While black players are well-represented in the English leagues, there are far fewer south Asians – just 15 in the professional ranks and 10 young “scholars”, according to Rehman, who is tasked with tapping into under-used reserves of talent.
Over the past 20 years, only 24 players of south Asian descent have made a league debut while Ricky Hill remains the only footballer from that background to have played for England, winning three caps in the 1980s.
Rehman, whose own career was brought to a premature end by injury, said under-representation was a “big problem for our communities”, but should not be the defining narrative.
His brother, Zesh, is the only player of full south Asian heritage (their parents are Pakistan-born) to have played in the English Premier League when he turned out for Fulham from 2004. Zesh was capped at youth level for England but went on to captain Pakistan.
“Me, my peers and the young players are evidence that players of Asian descent can thrive and that should be the focus,” Rehman said.
He pointed to other success stories such as Neil Taylor, who played for Wales at Euro 2016, Leicester’s Hamza Choudhury and Danny Batth, who helped Wolves win promotion to the Premier League.
He said they could act as mentors for academy players, and youngsters such as Arjan Raikhy, who made his senior debut for Aston Villa earlier this season, could do the same for those who are even younger.
“Zesh, Michael Chopra, Easah Suliman, Hamza Choudhury, Yan Dhanda have represented England at various levels,” he said. “No one talks about these achievements.
“For the last 30 years we have had the same lazy stereotypes labelled against Asians in football and we want to
‘LAZY’ STEREOTYPE IN FOOTBALL
move away from these misconceptions. We are starting to do that by showcasing the successes and the contribution these players have made to the game.”
Zesh, who is currently coaching Hong Kong side Southern, said mentoring was a useful tool and one that was missing when he was making his way in the sport. The 37-yearold, though, believes families too must play a role to support aspiring footballers, steering them towards mainstream leagues. “Life in football is competitive and challenging and I understand why Asian-only leagues are set up, although I disagree with them,” he said. “Those teams do not have links to professional teams but others at grassroot level do. It is very difficult to break through, wherever you are from, at the best of times. If you are good enough you will come through. “The Asian community should look at themselves and be really honest before pointing the finger elsewhere.”
Daniel Kilvington, a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University, says the widespread belief that English-born Asian youngsters were primarily interested in cricket or hockey was not true.
“You go out in any local school or park in a British south Asian area – as I know from my own experience in Bradford – footballs would be flying around rather than cricket balls,” he said.
He said high-profile role models “were an ignition key for younger people”, showing them they can succeed and also helping to change opinions.
“It can challenge gatekeepers’ mindsets they may internalise around British south Asian players,” he said. “Scouts and managers believe they [Asians] are not strong enough or quick enough or physical enough or lack interest, which I have heard a lot in the 10 years I conducted my research.
“Seeing them at the top of the game, the visibility will challenge mindsets and make a positive contribution to their decisions.”
Rehman is confident that things can change but admitted there was a long way to go.
“We just need more players at the grassroots and then more of a steady flow progressing into the academy system,” he said.
“I want to put a positive light on it regarding representation and be realistic at the same time.”