Trailblazer Manisha Tailor says British South Asian voices in the game must be amplified; South Asian footballers Maz Mahmood and Kira Rai set to go head to head after Sky Sports News reveals West Brom Women will play Derby County at The Hawthorns, two days before International Women's Day
Friday 11 February 2022 18:45, UK
QPR's Manisha Tailor says amplifying the voices of British South Asian role models in football is key to addressing the community's under-representation in the game.
UEFA A Licence candidate Tailor is assistant head of coaching to Chris Ramsey at QPR and is the only South Asian woman in such a role in the English professional game.
The west London club have championed inclusion in football, with ethnically diverse employees - including several from South Asian backgrounds - across the club, from team personnel and matchday staff right through to the boardroom.
QPR also have British-born Sri Lanka midfielder Dillon De Silva on their books, as well as former Northern Ireland U21 international Amrit Bansal-McNulty and Aaron Drewe, with the pair currently on loan at Crawley Town and Weymouth respectively.
But the stark reality is that together, the trio make up almost a fifth of the current pool of British South Asian professional players, previously described by Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari as "the biggest statistical anomaly in football".
Trailblazer Tailor insists the game cannot afford to wait for a British South Asian superstar player to emerge and should focus efforts on profiling those who are making strides in the game.
"I think what's going to accelerate the process is that we amplify the voices of those who are currently playing at the high end of the professional game," Tailor told Sky Sports News.
"Then what you've got to do is look at the international pathway how diverse that is and I mean how diverse that is with regards to South Asian players. I'm unaware of that many South Asian players who are in the England talent pathway, both female and male.
"Unless you can see people like you playing in the Premier League, in the Championship or for your national team, it becomes very difficult to see that as a possibility. And that is no different to you being a coach or a manager.
"If you do not see, you know, a lead face coach who's from a South Asian background, you don't see a full time under-18s coach from a South Asian background. You don't think that you're able to, if you believe that, that's unachievable.
"So, I think that we need to make sure that we do look at who is currently in those roles - although it's a minority pool and we understand - and we need to amplify their voices and share their journeys to hopefully inspire the next generation to then be bold and resilient [and] to actually see that it is a possibility."
West Bromwich Albion Women are set to play a landmark league game at The Hawthorns against Derby County Women, Sky Sports News understands.
The club's FA Women's National Premier Division clash against Derby will be played on Sunday March 6, two days before International Women's Day.
The town of West Bromwich has a significant South Asian population with over a fifth of residents coming from the community.
Both West Brom and Derby have a South Asian female in their first-team squads, with prolific striker Maz Mahmood a key player for the hosts, and flamboyant winger Kira Rai an important member of the Ewe Rams squad.
Rai has spent over a decade at Derby and is sponsored by official club supporters' group the Punjabi Rams, who are part of the Fans for Diversity campaign.
Sky Sports News revealed on Diwali that the Punjabi Rams were stepping in to become shirt-sleeve sponsors for Derby County Women amid the ongoing uncertainty around the football club as a whole.
There is a general feeling around the club that this is the ideal opportunity for West Brom to engage more deeply with their local community and promote their women's team and girls' football programmes, as well as their revamped vision for the future.
Dave Lawrence took up a full-time role last year as director of football at West Brom Women and has gone about trying to improve the player pathway at the club, with a view to also helping the club establish itself in The Championship by the end of the 2024/25 season.
Speaking after his appointment, Lawrence said: "The vision is to produce a team that is capable of, not just moving into the Championship, but being competitive within the Championship.
"I want players that are currently within our Regional Talent Centre or girls' academy to represent not just our first team but our first team within the Championship - and possibly even the Women's Super League - and then go on to national honours."
Anwar Uddin will write another remarkable chapter in his career when he reunites with his former boss Paul Fairclough as part of the England C coaching staff.
Sky Sports News exclusively revealed last year that West Ham academy graduate Uddin was going to make history by becoming the first British South Asian former footballer to become a member of the FA Council.
Ex-Aldershot assistant Uddin played for Fairclough at Barnet, skippering the Bees under the 72-year-old long-serving England C manager. An England C team of non-league players will take on the Wales C team at Caernarfon Town at the end of next month.
"England C is always something I have absolutely loved - the story, the idea of it," British-Bangladeshi Uddin told The Non-League Paper.
"I helped put together the England Cv Panjab FA fixture at Solihull Moors a few years back - and when I spoke to Paul about getting involved in the Wales fixture, I was like, 'Wow'.
"Having been in the National League the last three years at Aldershot, and with helping out Maidstone and Southend recently, I feel I know the levels very well. To do something like this will be a different experience, but an absolute privilege."
British South Asians in Football
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