Where is the next ‘Brown Beckham’? Alex Maple ‘It’s a choice between being almost certainly educated on the one hand and just about perhaps being a footballer on the other’ says Abdul Razzaq. One of his sons is showing signs of talent on the football pitch and given the choice he would love him to be a professional footballer. However, when it comes to the crunch, he like many other Asian parents will probably push him towards scholarship and away from soccer. He certainly believes this is the main reason for the startling dearth of Asian footballers. The statistics are as stark as they are bleak and particularly when compared to other minorities. It is estimated that 15 percent of professional footballers, those that play in the Football League and the Premiership, are black. So were seven of the twenty three selected to be in England’s 2006 World Cup squad. However, a quick glance at the 2001 census reveals there are twice as many South Asians as black people living in Britain today - four percent versus two. If an Asian with no knowledge of football whatsoever read those facts they might be tempted to assume that up to 30 percent of professional footballers might be of Asian origin. Sadly as those who watch football are aware this is not the case. If I were to tell that person the number was four, they might be slightly surprised - even more so if I revealed afterwards that figure was not a percentage but amazingly the actual number. Yes, just four per cent. To add to their dismay, I would have to tell them things had gotten worse in the last twelve months since the publication of a report by the ‘Asians in Football Forum’ in late 2005. The two Asians stated therein as playing in the Premiership have since departed to clubs lower down the leagues. It makes grim reading, which is why the Football Association as well as clubs are trying to encourage more young Asians to play football. Projects have been set up by various clubs where an above average proportion of Asians live. The ‘Leicester Soccer for All’ scheme offers coaching courses targeting areas of high Asian population, where the most talented are referred to the club’s academy. They’ve also appointed an Asians in Football Officer at the club to work in the community. The West Ham United Asians in Football project works in a similar way. In addition, regional football associations also try to do their bit as well. In Manchester tournaments for the Asian community are run, including one to celebrate Eid. They also organise football festivals at the local Melas and runs a 5-a-side league specially for the Asian community. In Birmingham, they and Aston Villa run a league for mainly Asian youngsters and have coached Asian and Muslim girls’ as part of a new project. Other projects also exist in places like Tower Hamlets, Nottingham and Luton with local authorities, schools and community groups. Certainly, the figures suggest that many Asians are interested and willing to play when they are young. The 2005 Football Forum report cites a 1991 Manchester University survey, saying that ‘young Asian males had amongst the highest rates of participation in football of any ethnic grouping’, with 60 percent of Bangladeshi and 43 percent of Pakistani boys playing. This compared to 47 percent of young ‘white’ boys who played regularly. These findings, if true, highlight the woeful lack of progress, especially considering the increased opportunities made available in the last fifteen years. Various reasons as to why the problem exists have been put forward. Jas Bains, author of the 2005 report said clubs were not doing enough to encourage Asian players, whilst those involved in the grassroots say talent spotting scouts are less likely to see Asian teams in action - something the FA says it has and will continue to address. Many also say the lack of Asians playing at grassroots makes it difficult for youngsters to feel at ease and that the scarcity of role models in the game also does not help. The statistics again however may show what many Asians and non-Asians feel is really the case - that family doubts over a career in professional football and fears over a lack of education may prevent youngsters burgeoning through the football ranks. Asians may be interested in football at a young age but by the time the important exams come along it becomes a different story. So thinks Leicester City chief executive Tim Davies who has argued Asian family virtues prove an ‘insurmountable obstacle’, saying ‘we have lots of good young players aged between nine and 12 at our club, but what has happened in the past is that once they get to about 14 years old their parents take them out of professional sport and place them into education’. Rashid Mama, a football scout there added in agreement that ‘a lot of parents who came from India or Pakistan did so to get better jobs and that means being more academic’. Certainly, many Asians feel as parent Abdul Razzaq does, that in making the choice to support your child through football ‘he may lose his precious years of education, with no guarantees of success in the game’. Without doubt footballers are not noted for their academic experience, not surprising considering they have to dedicate themselves to the sport from their teenage years right through to retirement in their early thirties. Asian parents know that if a wannabe footballer fails, reclaiming those years of education would be difficult. Asian adults are also less used to the idea of following football let alone supporting their children’s dedication to it - for one reason or another, ethnic minority fans make up just 1% of football audiences. Given these facts together with the lack of successful role models, what tends to happen is not surprising. The stats point to this line of thinking. A 2001 survey by the Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research at Leicester University, found that over fifty times the number of black players aged 14 or above were in youth academies than Asians - 10 percent compared with less than 0.2. And certainly when it comes to higher education, the difference becomes more explicable. With only four percent of the population, Asians take up over ten percent of university places. Three quarters of Indians are in full time education at age 18, compared with just 42% of the population as a whole. However, both Davies and Mama agree that this situation may gradually change. Mama predicts that because the next generation of Asians will have played and watched football a lot more, they would therefore be more likely to want their children to play it professionally. However, this change is essential as he believes ‘the key thing is parental support’. Davies puts a timetable to the progress and believes ‘we should see more Asian players coming through in the next five to six years’. This seems only likely to happen when Asian parents become less wedded to the idea their children must be successful at academic level. Part of the reason why 21 year old Asian footballer Zesh Rehman made it was not only because of solid parental support, but also because his mum and dad were more flexible on matters educational. Last year [2006] he moved from Premiership Fulham to League One’s Queens Park Rangers. His parents were keen for him to complete his GCSE’s and A-Levels, and he did so despite being with Fulham’s youth setup since the age of twelve. ‘They always made sure I didn’t neglect the schoolwork, but they didn’t insist I had to become doctor or whatever’. |