The development of South Asian youngsters within English football has been boosted by a number of events this summer that form part of the Premier League's South Asian Action Plan.
The Plan was introduced in in the 2021/22 season with the aim of breaking down barriers and helping to create a football pathway for British South Asian youngsters.
It is a long-term strategic initiative to address the underrepresentation of South Asian players across English football and is a key part of the League’s No Room for Racism Action Plan, to enhance player and career pathways and help diversify the workforce within the professional game.
In August, the third annual Emerging Talent Festival saw 220 boys and girls of South Asian heritage representing 11 Premier League and EFL clubs in a tournament at Loughborough University, offering them a platform to showcase their talent as part of the League’s commitment to inclusion and diversity.
The Premier League’s Director of Football Neil Saunders says the initiative is crucial to supporting one of the key commitments of the ongoing No Room For Racism Action Plan.
Top day out attending the emerging talent festival and final of the #PLNextGen 2024 Cup. Always good to catch up with stakeholders in ⚽️ & wider community partners. We also heard from Hamza Choudhury’s mum reflecting on her experiences supporting Hamza through the academy system. pic.twitter.com/KS06nAiloj
— Zuleikha Chikh (@zuleikhachikh) August 5, 2024
"South Asian communities have got a massive role to play in football now and in the future," Saunders said.
"We know that initiatives like this and youth development is a long-term objective and we know that it's going to take a period of time to see some of the young players that are on show here to come through our Academies.
“The Premier League is committed to enhancing player pathways and the diversity of the workforce and whilst this is just one small step in the initiative, it's something that hopefully provides a lot of joy to the young participants taking part.”
The South Asian Action Plan includes analysis and research to better understand what the current barriers to entry are for south Asian players, as well as providing equality, diversity and inclusion education sessions within the game.
The Emerging Talent Festival followed the success of the qualifying events, where more than 1,000 youngsters had taken part in regional qualifiers involving 11 clubs from the Premier League and EFL.
One of the qualifiers took place at West Ham United's Mark Noble Arena and built upon the work that the East London club are doing in their community. West Ham United Foundation's Rashid Abba feels it is only a matter of time before a big breakthrough is made in the south Asian community.
“Part of the Premier League's South Asian Action Plan is for clubs to be pro-active and to widen the net,” Abba said. “I think it is important that we have that visibility and we try to inspire the next generation.”
Another qualifier took place in Burnley, where there is also a strong south Asian presence that is now welcoming the support.
"I grew up playing football [and] it wasn't a thing, it was very rare for us to get funding, especially from a south Asian background," said Fatima Khan, a coach at Alpha United Juniors FC, a Bradford club. "So the fact that you've got massive clubs who are really well known within the Premier League itself to invite only south Asians down to represent that diversity and to be more included in everything, it's just a massive thing for us and it [the qualifier] was such an amazing opportunity for our children as well."
NextGen tournament
The support at grassroots level is complemented further up the football development pathway through the Premier League's NextGen tournament, which involves players from English Academy clubs take on their counterparts from the Indian Super League and South Africa.
This year's edition, the fifth, took place in England, and was won by Stellenbosch FC, but in the past it has been hosted in Mumbai, giving overseas players valuable life experiences as well as developing their game.
See: Premier League NextGen 2024 on YouTube
"The NextGen tournament is part of our longstanding relationship with the Indian Super League and it's part of our commitment to help grow the game of football in India by supporting player, coach and referee development," said Saunders.
"George Earthy of West Ham United was with us out in Mumbai in May 2023 and fast forward 12 months he's playing and scoring for West Ham United in the Premier League.
"For the Indian players it's a great opportunity to see how they compare against future Premier League players."
