“The lack of British-Asians in football is still a big issue and one very much on our radar,” said Danny Lynch, media officer at the Kick It Out campaign against racism in football. “The number of British Asians playing at the top level is completely disproportionate to the thousands across the country playing at grassroots level.”
Britain has more than 2 million people with family roots in the Indian sub-continent but only seven Asian players in the country’s professional soccer ranks. As a way to address this problem, Premier League club Chelsea hosted a “Search for an Asian Star” weekend aimed at finding talented British Asian youngsters. Some 450 British-Asians under the age of 14 showcased their skills in the hopes of securing a place on Chelsea’s youth team and one day playing top-level soccer.
“Historically, football as an industry hasn’t really embraced the Asian community,” Lynch said. “There is a myth that Asian footballers and youngsters who want to play don’t have the right attitude for the game, that they like cricket more than football, and that they are physically less strong.” Chelsea hopes to reverse these stereotypes while finding some under-the-radar talent.