adminLONDON. — Dion Dublin took to the stage at the recent Asian Football Awards and, in no uncertain terms, told the guests to “shut up” while the presentation ceremony was going on.
The former Manchester United striker was presenting one of the awards on the night when he told the assembled audience he was “serious” that they should show more respect to those who had gone to the trouble of arranging the event.
While Dublin might not have been happy, his intervention provided a nice metaphor for the increasing voice — even though it may still only be a whisper — that British Asians are starting to have in English football.
In this case, we are talking predominantly about South Asians with a Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Sri Lankan heritage. At a time when diversity has become a talking point among the football fraternity, the 500-plus attendance at the Bobby Moore suite at Wembley for the AFA showed the appetite and desire from South Asians to make a meaningful breakthrough.
“Nobody can ever convince me that there aren’t talented Asian players out there,” said Football Association equality consultant Brendon Batson. “They just need somebody to tap into them and, hopefully, they will flourish. “There will be a lot of scepticism out there of people saying ‘you said that before Bren’, but I think things are being done to, hopefully, make that progression a bit swifter.”
Whereas in the past there have been brief flirtations from this ethnic group across England’s top four divisions, the hope now is that schemes and strategies in place as well as changing attitudes from the Asian community will have a more sustained impact.
The Football Association is to reveal its plans to help British Asians in the English game later this year, while Chelsea’s annual Asian Star search initiative has been running for five years.
The aim of the FA’s plans is to increase the number of Asians at grassroots level in both a playing and coaching capacity in the belief – and hope – that they filter up the pyramid on a more regular basis.
“Tapping into them”, as Batson puts it, has previously proved unsuccessful, with the diet and physique of Asians being blamed for them not being able to break into football, as well as a focus on education, and a preference for other sports like cricket. — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter