CHELSEA have launched an initiative aimed at identifying promising young players from a south Asian background in a bid to address the community’s chronic under-representation in English football.
Chelsea’s initiative is being backed by the Football Association, the anti-racist organisation Kick it Out, and the Asian Media and Marketing Group, the parent company of Garavi Gujarat, GG2 and the website www.gg2.net.
Britain is home to over three million people with family roots in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka but the country’s largest ethnic minority has virtually no presence in the national sport at the professional level.
Zesh Rehman, the former Fulham defender, is one of a handful of players from a south Asian background to have made it to the Premier League, and he is backing Chelsea’s move to stage a weekend of trials specifically for young Asians in early May.
Rehman, who is now at Bradford on loan from Championship side QPR, said: "I think clubs need to take a more active role and engage with their communities and I think it’s a great project.
"Chelsea are a Premier League club with a massive profile across the world I am sure other clubs can look at that and use it as a template for future reference."
The club is planning to stage open trials for 10 to 14-year-olds over the Mayday holiday weekend and will offer residential trials at the club’s academy to any youngsters deemed to have the potential to become the next John Terry or Frank Lampard.
"We realise that there is a lack of representation of players from Asian backgrounds within the game and we hope that the competition will help inspire Asian youngsters," former Chelsea and England defender Graeme Le Saux said today.
"We want to show that race is no barrier to joining our club and that opportunities for Asian players do exist."
The FA’s consultant in race equality, Brendon Batson underlined the FA’s support: "For a club like Chelsea to offer these opportunities demonstrates their commitment to breaking down the barriers between the game and the Asian community and mirrors the ambition of the FA that football is representative of all our communities," he said.
