It remains one of football’s most unfortunate statistics, yet one which could so easily have been tackled years ago. The under-representation of British Asian players and coaches in English football is a fact which cannot be ignored any longer.
Any excuses for the absence of Britons of Indian, Pakistan or Bangladeshi heritage have long worn thin. This season, only Leicester’s Hamza Choudhury has played in the Premier League. That will change in August when Wolves captain, Danny Batth will also feature. Yet while Zesh Rehman played for seven English sides, including 30 Premier League appearances for Fulham from 2003-06, far more talented youth prospects are still not making the grade.
Despite early promise, the former Arsenal trainee Taff Rahman never achieved his ambition of playing top-flight football. Arriving in Britain from Bangladesh aged six, even at that tender age Rahman knew where his future lay. “I started playing football from the day I moved here. It was my way of communicating with the world around me, English being my second language,” he says. “I was playing in the street, on the estates, school, wherever there was a call I was playing. When I was 12, I was picked up by Luton Town and remember getting on trains at Kings Cross to travel to Luton by myself.”
He later joined QPR’s academy and after impressing in a trial match against Arsenal, joined the Premier League club. What Rahman experienced was a window of opportunity into a unique world, where talented young players like him are recognised and earmarked for further development. But he was inevitably in a minority of one, with an absence of “support,” or cultural empathy.
“Signing YTS forms was a really exciting time for me. Again, there was no one there to support me. I progressed in one area and fell back in others at times, and the enjoyment of my football followed a similar pattern.”
Despite playing in the Arsenal youth side who won the FA Youth Cup in 2001 and produced David Bentley, Rahman was released in 2002 – an event which left him devastated. Family matters off the pitch deteriorated too when his mother was diagnosed with cancer.
“Going home and seeing her in pain was heart breaking. Taking her to hospital after training or in the middle of the night, then going to training was not a life or career I had imagined. She was paralysed from the neck down. It was hard dealing with my mum’s illness and my own injuries. But I had to deal with it by myself.”
Rahman drifted into non-League football with Sporting Bengal – established in 1996 to encourage Asian players in London – and Gravesend but with an eye on the future he set about getting his coaching badges.
Returning to Arsenal initially and then Tottenham’s coaching staff, Rahman gained his Uefa A licence and was selected to join the FA’s COACH scheme where he worked with England youth camps, and a promising young Asian defender from Aston Villa, Easah Suliman. The 20-year-old has captained his country and scored the opener when England beat Portugal 2-1 in last summer’s Under 19 European Championship final in Georgia.
“Easah is on his journey of fulfilling his potential,” Rahman says. “In order to do that the final ingredients may not be in his control. He will need to be given his chance.”
Recognition for Rahman’s work came at the 2017 Asian Football awards when he was named the coach of the year.
To increase participation, he believes the challenge now is to effectively engage with Asian communities and offer trials. However, the numbers suggest that clubs tend to look elsewhere. So would a Rooney rule for Asian players be a step in the right direction?
“An Asian player Rooney rule is a good idea but it would need to be tightened on how it works, without interfering with governance already in place,” Rahman says.
More than two decades on from joining Arsenal, is he surprised at the continuing under representation of Asians in football? “Yes – over the last two decades, participation rates have increased hugely. Why more are not involved at the elite level is something that needs to be further investigated.”
The Football Association clearly agrees. In 2015, it initiated a three-year plan to address the under-representation of Asians in football. It is now on track to achieve its targets, with the data to be released later this year.
If it leads to greater Asian inclusion in football and equality for player and coach recruitment, then Rahman will be best placed to benefit, while acting as a role model for British Asians seeking footballing opportunities.
- This article was corrected on 9 June 2018 to reflect the fact Hamza Choudhury has played for Leicester
