The Football Association [The FA] on 10 August, published a Year 3 update on its Asian inclusion strategy, ‘Bringing Opportunities to Communities Phase 2’, which aims to increase the representation of Asian communities across English football, both on and off the pitch. The report reveals a fall in Asian male player participation in the 16 plus age category from 2019.
While there is a rise in Asian female player participation in the 16 plus age category from 15.2% in July 2019 to 17.5% in 2023, the male player participation in the same category has dropped from 12.9% in July 2019 to 10% in July 2023.
There is no significant progress seen in the report when it comes to South Asian coaches or referees either
In July 2022, 3% referees were from a Asian heritage, while in July 2023, this number just rose by a whisker to 3.1%.
There is no change in the participation of Asian coaches, with their number remaining constant at 2.7% in July 2022 and 2023.
While South Asians form the largest ethnic minority in England and Wales, having 6% of the total population, players from the community just form 0.91% of total players in Foundation and Youth Development Phases. This is a slight improvement from 0.82% last in 2021/22.
On a positive side, 2022/23 saw six league debuts from players from South Asian heritage, compared to two in 2018 and 2020. There is also an overall increase of 12.6% In terms of South Asian players at all levels of elite football since 2021/22.
The challenges in terms of underrepresentation remains with the FA in its report admitting, “there is more work to do” in order to ensure South Asian participation.
The report also states that over 8,000 clubs across the country are now adopting The FA’s Football Leadership Diversity Code as part of the process to become England Football-accredited.
As a part of prompting diversifying football, the report states that recruitment of 32 ambassadors will work closely with County FAs to embed best practice across grassroots football, the National League System and Women’s Pyramid
Image: The FA
Over 1,600 people attended Wembley Stadium to engage with football and celebrate Ramadan and Vaisakhi as part of The FA’s ‘Faith and Football’ programme as well as engagement with Hindu and Buddhist communities.
The year also saw a launch of the second season of the award-winning content series, ‘Football and Me., featuring players, medical staff, match officials and fan groups from across the game as well as a special South Asian Heritage Month video feature on the experiences of young players and their parents in the elite player pathway.
Reacting to the report, Yunus Lunat, former Chair of FA Race & Equality Board said: “The latest Asian Inclusion Plan makes for very disappointing reading. Little progress has been made since the first Plan some 8 years ago, other than the women’s game.
“The absence again of any ambition for Asians in the executive workforce is striking and disheartening. To be fair to the FA, it does share its own workforce data, which is well represented from an Asian perspective. The FA is reliant on the other stakeholders here and it is time they stepped up and engaged, starting with sharing their data.”
Dal Darroch, our Head of Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Programmes, said: “Creating opportunities in English football for Asian communities is very important to us, and we’re committed to using our influence to help drive this forward.
“We’ve made good progress across several key areas, most notably, the significant rise in the number of Asian women playing grassroots football and the growth of our ‘Faith and Football’ programme which has connected and engaged many thousands of people across Asian communities.
“However, we know there’s much more work to be done, and it’s crucial that the footballing bodies continue to work together to ensure the game becomes truly representative. Asian communities make up the largest ethnic minority groups in the country and ensuring this is better reflected in our game will remain a strategic priority for us for years to come.”
